Lethal Shinobi
by Master Tyrant 1
Summary: An accident at birth caused Naruto to be unable to properly utilize chakra. But no worries, he gets something a lot better. A lot more violent. A lot more...hungry. A complete rewrite of The Black Leaves.
1. Chapter 1

**After having not done a damn thing to this little story for such a long time, I decided to kinda' start it all over. Let's be honest, the story was all over the place and I never really had much of a focus for it. Too many characters that barely existed and it wasn't something I was really happy with. So, I'm going to be pretty much changing the story completely. If there was anything you enjoyed from the previous version then please let me know so that I could possibly find a way to include it in some shape or form.**

**With that, let us begin.**

**Black Leaves**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Joy.

Happiness.

Elation.

Those three words were the closest that mankind had ever created that could come even the smallest bit close to how Namikaze Minato felt. He was practically radiating pure euphoria from his seat in the office of the Hokage.

Now, one may ask; what could possibly cause the strongest shinobi in the Village Hidden within the Leaves to be so pleased?

Was it the fact that he had achieved his own dream of becoming the leader of said village and having helped a great deal it strengthen it's economy and military? Was it that he had helped form positive relations with most of the surrounding nations and was beginning to foster strong bonds between those with drastically different view points in politics and society?

Or was it a combination of all of those plus the fact that he had married the love of his life and had just been told not five minutes ago that she was confirmed to be pregnant with their first child?

Yeah, probably that.

Having just heard the news, Minato tried his best to focus completely on his Hokage duties and not on the thought of running home and embracing his wife. His leg just would not stop bouncing in excitement.

He had worked so hard to get where he was and it was finally paying off in so many ways it almost made his head spin. He could barely even focus on the documents sitting in front of him.

A knock to the office door finally forced the man to pay attention to at least something other than he own happiness.

Minato cleared his throat before speaking, making sure that he could still speak with at least some level of authority. No matter the amount of joy in his heart, he was still the Hokage and needed to act as such.

"Enter." His voice was strong. A kind of strength that could bring even the most morally destroyed army up to rally with just a few choice words. Something he had done at least a time or two.

The door opened to reveal the wrinkled old form of the previous Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Age had not slowed the man in the slightest as he walked with the same poise and speed as shinobi less than half his age. As always, in his hand he held his favorite pipe. Always lit and ready to help the old man relax at a moment's notice.

Said pipe was already in his mouth as he entered what was once his own office. As it was the office for all Hokage before him, and hopefully for the many that will follow. The older man looked at his much younger replacement and could not help but smile. The blond-haired leader's excitement was impossible for him to hide and it warmed Sarutobi's aged heart that despite all the young man had witnessed and done, he still could act like the child he once knew.

Of course, the old man was going to have a little fun at the expense of the new father.

"Ah, Sensei." Minato announced with joy while still trying to remain as professional as possible. "It was been a while. How have you been?"

"I've been doing well." Sarutobi returned with a kind voice. "I just wanted to stop by and see how my successor was doing." He glance around the room. "Not too bad it would appear since you haven't leveled the entire village just yet."

Minato chuckled. "Come on old man." He instantly dropped that stuffy way of talking. "I've been at this for a while and you still think I'm gonna' break something?"

Sarutobi struck a thinking pose. "Maybe not so much with you. If it was your wife in that chair I would a whole lot more concerned."

"Better not let her hear you say that." Minato warned playfully. It was no secret that he beloved wife had a short temper and would very likely have razed a good portion of the world and ruled with a wicked iron fist if she had been sitting in place of Minato. Or at least, that was what he thought.

He loved his wife dearly, but Uzumaki Kushina was an absolute horror when provoked. And it was not hard to get her blood boiling.

"So, I take it your not here just to judge my exceptional leadership skills, are you?" Minato asked with a raised eyebrow and a playful smirk. He desperately wanted an excuse to proclaim his new found fatherhood. It was impossible for him to completely hide his excitement.

"Well, what else is there to talk about?" Sarutobi feigned ignorance. He could see the excitement building inside his old student and knew that it was taking all he had not to dance about in joy like a complete fool.

Minato just stared at the old man. Unblinking. Unwavering.

Sarutobi could not hold in his own smile any longer. "I heard."

Without warning, Minato leapt out of his arm chair, over the desk and gripped the old man's shoulders tightly. Sarutobi was not surprised by the man's actions. He could recall how he acted upon hearing of his own wife's pregnancy years ago. Rest her soul.

He really needed to visit her again soon.

"I'm going to be a dad!" Minato shouted loudly in the man's face. "I'm going! To be! A dad!" The man was practically bouncing on his feet.

"Congratulations." The retired Hokage responded with a soft smile.

Minato could only smile that famous wide grin that nearly everyone the world over knew of. A smile that held nothing but a joy that could never remain contained and was infectious to all around.

"I just can't believe it's true." The blond-haired man said while letting go of the old man. "I'm finally going to have a child of my own." He walked back over and sat down at his desk, still piled up with important papers and documents. He picked up his previously ignored pen and began scribbling signature after signature.

"You worked hard for this." The old man stated kindly. "You worked hard for the life you have and for the life that you will be helping make." He risked a glance at the door before looking hard outside of the window. The setting sun telling him all he needed to know.

He walked over to the window and took the pipe out of his mouth. "You've been doing well." He reached into has back pocket and pulled out a small amount of the specially imported tobacco he reserved just for this one specific pipe.

"In just a short amount of time, you have brought bitter rivals together in harmony; brought peace between the most hated of enemies, and have even brought a smile to an old man." He turned to glance down at the working man; who had stopped his pen scratching to hear what was being said. Sarutobi tapped down the newly added tobacco and added it to the already lit pipe.

"You have done so much for this village. Both, before taking the seat of it's leader, and now." Sarutobi walked over to the sitting man and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"And so, as the previous Hokage, I would like to make one final suggestion to you. A final note of wisdom from a tired old man." He leaned in close to the younger man's ear.

"No matter how important your job may be. No matter how much work has piled up before you or how much the council nags. You need to take a break every now and then for your family." The old man winked. "So why not take the rest of the day off and go be with your wife? I feel she may want to celebrate this joyous occasion as soon as possible."

Minato sat still for a moment, actually contemplating finishing the next few hours of work or going home to his beloved wife.

"Or." The old man decided to continue. "You can stay here and work, then go home to your probably really really angry wife and deal with her like that for the next nine months; progressively getting angrier and angrier until eventually she blames you for everything and threatens you with untold pain...or exile to the couch."

Minato's entire body paled at the mere thought of upsetting Kushina. He slowly set his pen down, stacked his paper's neatly and stood from his seat once again. He stretched before walking over to the window behind him that looked over a vast majority of the village.

"You know." His voice was slightly shaky; whether it was due to his excitement, or new fear, Sarutobi was not sure. "I _have _been working hard lately and haven't really had much of a chance to relax and spent time with my lovely and sweet wife." He spoke as if said woman would suddenly appear at any moment. "So, for the betterment of my own well being as well as to insure that I am at my peak when I sit in that chair, I think I will take the rest of the day off."

He stood still for a moment before leaping over his desk and dashing out of his office, leaving a terribly amused Sarutobi to chuckle at his protege's antics.

The retired Hokage took another long drag of his pipe before decided that there was no reason for him to remain in his old office. Right before he left, his aged eyes glanced over a document that Minato had left out on his desk.

The wording was not urgent nor did it have anything written on it that anyone would deem important. In fact, all that was on the form was a request that there be an addition to the Ninja Academy. The form requested that a third floor be built as well as a flat surfaced roof.

The need for more rooms to handle the inevitable increase in the student population was something that really did needed to be taken care of now before it could become a serious problem.

Reading the finer details, Sarutobi saw that the requested flat roof was most likely made by the teachers and nearby home owners getting tired of the kids hanging around the halls and streets during breaks. It really would not do to have a bunch of new shinobi-to-be causing a mess in the village using techniques that could harm the surrounding civilians. Like most all legal documents, the wording was as confusing as can be so that nobody really knew what they were actually signing.

One of the many things Sarutobi did not miss about having the prestigious title of Hokage. He ignored the paper and turned off the lights before leaving the office and heading home himself.

* * *

"I'm home!" Minato announced upon finally reaching his modest home. Just because he was the village leader did not mean he had a mansion or some ritzy junk like that.

Kushina poked her red head out from the kitchen with a knife in hand. She had clearly been hard at work preparing dinner for the pair. "Welcome back." She responded cheerfully.

Without another word, Minato suddenly appeared behind her and had picked her up into his arms. Before she could even utter a sound, Kushina found herself suddenly in their modest living room and being placed as gently as humanly possible on the couch.

"Just what do you think you are you doing?" Minato asked in a serious tone. He stood over his sitting wife with his arms crossed and a displeased expression.

Kushina was both confused and deeply concerned. She had just found out she was pregnant just a few hours ago. Obviously her husband, the village Hokage, knew about it that point.

The pair had been trying for a baby for...a while...and now they were finally going to have one. So why was her husband suddenly towering over her like her own disapproving father.

Before she could utter a word, Minato spoke up.

"You are pregnant with our very first child and I will not have you doing anything that might endanger you or the baby." His face was hard and serious.

Minato's expression, plus his tone of voice, instantly started the famous short fuse that Kushina was famous for. She leaned back into the couch and crossed both her arms and her legs before cocking a single eyebrow towards her husband.

"Excuse me?" Her voice was unnaturally calm. "Would you like to repeat that?"

The hair on the back of Minato's neck stood on end as the chill of his wife's voice coursed through his very veins. She was unhappy. She was upset.

She was mad.

He quickly uncrossed his arms and his hardened expression quickly shifted to a more panicked one. He began to stammer profusely. "I-I mean your pregnant and things are going to start getting hard for you and you will need to be very careful since you could easily get hurt and-"

Kushina held up a single finger and the man stopped his rambling instantly. She cracked her neck before getting to her feet and staring her husband in the eyes. That slight anger faded completely from her eyes and was replaced with mirth.

"Oh, my dear sweet husband." Her tone was way too sweet. "You know I love you with every ounce of my being."

Minato had to resist the instinct to flee.

"And I will love this child that we have both made." Her brow furrowed ever so slightly. "But, if you think for one moment that my pregnancy means I'm just going to be some hanger-on wallflower; you've got another thing coming."

"I just-"

"I know you just want to make sure everyone is safe, happy and healthy." She quickly interrupted her interrupting husband. "But I am not some dainty housewife." She glared at her husband. "And I refuse to be treated as one. You know who I am and how I am. I'm not about to let you start treating me differently now that I'm carrying a little extra."

"Yes dear." Minato responded instantly.

"Good." Kushina smiled warmly before making her way back to the kitchen. "But." She continued as she walked, a sort of signal to her husband to follow. She stopped just short of entering the kitchen.

"I, um." She did not turn to face the love of her life as her cheek were beginning to redden. "I wouldn't mind, um, being spoiled though. Just a little bit." Her voice got quieter with each word.

Minato did not need to see his beloved's face to know just how red it was. Kushina was well known by all for her strength, independence, and anger; but only her husband was allowed to see her in any other way.

So her going from a her headstrong and demanding nature to this soft spoken love struck girl was nothing uncommon in this household. And it was one of her many charms that Minato constantly fell in love with over and over again.

He walked past his wife and gently placed a hand on her head. "I don't know any other way to treat you." He gave her that oh so bright smile that filled the young mother-to-be with more warmth than even the sun could provide.

Minato walked into the kitchen to help finish the preparations for dinner and Kushina followed

The next few months went by quickly for the family of the Fourth Hokage. Every minutes that was not spent dealing with work or friends was dedicated to preparing for the birth and care of their child.

Of course, said friends were more than happy to help prepare the couple for bringing in a new life.

Luckily for Minato, as being the Hokage, the fact that several of the people helping happened to be members of some of the village's most influential and powerful clans; his wife's pregnancy was doing wonders dealing with the constant internal strife between these strong families.

Overall, everything was going pretty well for the village. Especially since this will be the first child born during the tenure of a Hokage. The past three, while they did have children of their own, only had them before taking the seat. So the village was clearly going to make this a massive deal.

Every business owner was going the extra mile to make their own respective business stand out to their village leader; hoping that his approval would increase the number of customers.

As her belly swelled, Kushina slowly became more and more dependent on her husband despite her near constant argument against the contrary. And the man was more than happy to help out his beloved when she asked, and even when she specifically said she did not.

The young couple were elated to learn that Kushina was to give birth to a boy, and so was the entire village. Though, to be fair, everyone would have been just as happy if a girl was to be born. No sexism here.

Knowing who the parents were, there was no doubt that the boy was going to be an energetic powerhouse that would not only be a wonderful asset to the village and it's military force, but also a massive headache with a combination of swift trickery and sneaking skills unlike any other.

Finally, the day had arrived. Or, more appropriately, the night.

It was right as the young couple had finished eating dinner when, upon standing, Kushina grasped her stomach as a sudden pain washed over her. No words were needed between the two.

They had planned for this day and it was finally time to implement it.

Minato called the hospital and a friend or two before gathering his wife's coat and helping her out the door. Before they even reached the end of the home's walkway, a small, modest carriage stood in front with several hospital staff heading to the pair to help the pregnant woman inside.

There would be no high speed leaping through the village for this woman. Such activity and excitement would not do the pregnant woman any good at all, even if she was not the one actually doing the jumping about.

The ride to the hospital went smoothly and the staff at the hospital was already prepared to receive the woman and help her along with the birth of the new child.

As with all things, word had traveled quick and it did not take long for people to start milling about the hospital in wait to hear about the birth. Minato, despite being the leader of the village and being a military genius, was in a state of shock due to how exact every single action the hospital staff performed was as well as just how fast everything was going.

In what felt like minutes Minato suddenly noticed an incredible pain in his right hand and that he had somehow wound up right beside the bed his wife was laying on with her hand currently gripping his own...tightly.

After another moment, his brain finally caught up to what was happening and he quickly began encouraging his young wife. She responded by breaking his hand in about four different places before suddenly jamming her elbow into his face hard enough to break Minato's nose.

Despite his own discomfort, the Hokage staid next to his wife the entire time and did all he could; a.k.a. not much, to help her along with the birth of their little boy.

In all of his life as a shinobi and leader of a ninja village, Minato had never been called such horrible names and cursed at so violently as he currently was while the love of his live shattered bone after bone in his poor hand.

After several very, very long hours, the screams of complete and total agony from his wife came to a stop and were replaced with the cries of a new life entering the world.

The doctors and nurses all quickly went about cleaning the newborn while insuring that the baby could properly breath while another group of the hospital staff came over to help Kushina recover. The birth had taken a lot out of her, but there were no signs of harm to either her or the child.

Minato, wearing the appropriate gear so as to protect his son from anything he might be carrying, was handed his child as his wife was now much too tired to even raise a hand.

"Congratulations, Lord Hokage." The doctor spoke quietly. "It is a healthy baby boy."

The new father looked down at his son, who looked up at him with the same bright blue eyes as his father. He even had the same blond hair already trying to spike up right after being born. The newborn was curious as to who, or what this giant looking over him was and continued to stare as a smile grew on the giant's face.

"Look. Kushina." Minato practically whispered. "It's our son."

The red-headed mother could only give a tired smile as a nurse helped prop her up. The woman's strength was slowly coming back to her, but not yet enough to safely hold her young. So, being the happy father he was, Minato brought his son over so that his wife could see.

"Look." He requested again.

Kushina smiled tiredly. "He had your eyes. And hair."

"Bet he'll have your attitude." The Hokage joked.

Kushina was finally able to use her arms again and held them out in an unspoken request to see her baby; which Minato gladly handed to her.

"Oh, my baby." The woman cooed as the baby switched focus from his father to his mother. Her soft smile and tired eyes made the baby give a toothless grin before trying to reach out to the his mother. Minato leaned in so that the two parents could look at their newborn.

"Oh my little baby boy." Kushina cooed her attention completely on her small child.

A bright flash, however, drew Minato's attention away from happy family and to the window; where a bright orange flashing light, off in the distance could be seen.

Before he could question what the light was, it came rushing towards the hospital as a massive wave. The wave hit everything in it's path, but harmed nothing but the windows of the building's it touched.

Seeing the incoming wave, Minato instinctively leapt over the bed before quickly turning on the spot and enveloping his new family in his arms. It was the only thing he could think to do to protect them as the wave hit the hospital.

There was no sound as the wave of energy came into contact with the hospital. No sound from the wave itself or from the building. An almost deafening silence washed over everything as the windows shattered violently; the shards almost instantly turning to sand. The same went for the glass monitors of the hospital equipment and the overhead lights.

A feeling of great pressure enveloped Minato on all sides. Almost like he had dived into the ocean and had gone down as deep as he could. It was not bone crushing, but was enough for the man to be aware of the slight discomfort.

The wave of energy passed through the building before finally hitting the Hokage Mountain and suddenly dissipating into an orange mist upon slamming into the stone.

Slowly, sound started to come back with the first sound being the crying of the new baby.

"Is everyone ok?!" One of the doctors shouted as he went about checking everyone.

Minato got off of his wife and noticed that the woman was still hunched over their crying child. A terrifying chill instantly ran down Minato's spine as an even worse thought popped itself into his head.

"Kushina?!" He was in a complete panic as he shouted and grabbed his wife's shoulders. The woman did not move.

"Kushina?!" Minato shouted even louder, not helping his crying baby's current mood.

"Huh!?" The woman's head snapped up and her eyes blinked rabidly, albeit tiredly. The stress and pain of giving birth had been just too much for Kushina and her bending over was all it took for her body to shut down.

"Oh thank the gods." Minato mumbled as he fought to keep his shaking knees strong. Kushina noticed her crying child and began to gently rock the newborn in an effort to calm him down.

The doctor quickly came over and gave everyone a once over to make sure everything was alright. Once it was clear that no one was harmed, it was time for the nurses to take the little baby away for a proper exam.

But not before...

"Have you two decided on a name?" One of the nurses asked while holding onto a clipboard.

Kushina looked at her husband, who simply responded with that smile she loved so dearly. She could not help a smile of her own growing on her face as she looked down at the calmed down boy.

Another nurse came up and gently took the newborn away for a moment with the doctor quickly following behind. The two went to another part of the room to perform the last few inspections of the baby, allowing both mother and father to finally rest without worry.

"You did amazing." Minato whispered to his wife. The woman rested her tired head against his supporting arm and just gave a hum in acknowedgment of her husband's words.

"This is going to be so awesome!" Minato's excitement for his new child had finally returned in full. "We are going tog o out so much on family days. We can set up play dates with our friends. We should really convince more of them to have kids for ours to play with." He went on a short excited rant that made it incredibly difficult for Kushina to not smile widely.

She listened to her husband talk for a while as her boy slowly regained it's strength. She opened her eyes once she noticed the doctor walking back over to the pair, a solemn expression written on his face.

Both parents returned his expression with one of concern.

"Lord Hokage." The doctor's voice matched his expression. "I have some unfortunate news." He gave a regretful sigh; it was never easy having to tell a family any kind of news that they would never want to hear.

"After performing some basic testing, it would appear that your son's chakra network has been severely damaged. It can only be assumed that whatever that strange energy was might have caused this. But it is most likely that your child will never be able to mold chakra."

Both parents were shocked and upset upon hearing the doctor's words. But, the fact that their child was otherwise perfectly healthy completely overrode the disappointment of his disability.

For the time being.

Seeing that the two new parents needed some time to think, the doctor left them alone.

In the back of their minds, both knew the many problems that would eventually arise due to their son's inability to mold chakra. The obvious, unable to become a proper ninja, was the one the instantly came to mind.

For one, he was the son of the current Hokage, so a certain level of skill and ability is expected from not just the military force of the village, but the civilian populace as well. In fact, pretty much every issue that Minato's new son was going to have to deal with will arise due to the combination of who his father was and his inability to become a proper ninja.

Minato already knew that there was likely to some kind of assassins already on their way to kidnap his son. Him being unable to properly defend himself meant that the Hokage was going to need to infiltrate the civilian populace with some trusted agents to keep an eye on his boy.

Regardless of the troubles that may follow their son, both parent's knew that they would do to make his life as happy and safe as possible.

"Um, E-excuse me." One of the nurses came shuffling over, a clipboard of her own in hand. "Lord Hokage? You, um, never told us if you two had come up with a name yet." Her voice was meek and cute.

Minato and Kushina looked at each for a brief moment. A small smile formed on Kushina's lips before she returned her attention to the nurse.

"Naruto." She said in a motherly tone. "Our son's name will be, Naruto."


	2. Chapter 2

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Before Minato and his wife brought their newborn bundle of joy home, the Hokage decided to send out a search team to discover what the cause of that strange energy wave was.

He received the team's report about three days later.

The search team had discovered a gigantic crater on the very borders of the Land of Fire and near the Village Hidden within the Grass. The entire crater was one massive chakra burn with absolutely no sign of what might have caused it. By the time the search team had arrived at the site, all residual chakra had already faded.

There was no sign of any other humans having been around at the time of whatever caused the crater.

With that report, Minato had a patrol sent out to keep watch over the area. Mostly to see of anything did eventually show up, but partially also to make sure that no possibly enemies of the village took the giant hole as some sort of threat; thinking that it was Konoha's doing for it's existence.

The man just had a baby. He really, really, _really,_ did not want a war to start any time soon.

Minato and Kushina raised their baby as well as any parents could. They fed him well, played with him often, and spent as much time as possible together as a loving family.

Kushina dedicated all of her time to being a mother with not a second spared tending to her new family.

Minato was exactly the same. When not working hard, he was with his wife and child, doing all he could to provide the perfect life for them all.

No one could argue that every member of the Namikaze family loved one another so very deeply. Their home was filled with nothing but laughs and love.

As time went by, Naruto grew; as most humans do. He learned to walk and talk. He learned rights from wrongs. He was praised when he did good and punished when he did wrongs.

He was enrolled into one of the many daycare's the village had when he was the right age and learned how to be social with people as he learned about the word around him.

Overall, Naruto had as normal a childhood as one could have; despite his father being the leader of a powerful village full of highly trained assassins. And, as one would expect, because of who his parents were Naruto was treated a bit differently than his peers.

Of course, his parents were quick to drill into his skull that just because of his heritage, that did not give him the right to be an egotistical asshole. Clearly, they explained why Naruto should behave properly without using such harsh language.

Unfortunately, it was around the time Naruto entered into pre-school did people discover the boy's inability to mold and use chakra. It was not known who spread the information, but within a matter of a few days the entire village had learned that the great heir to the Namikaze and Uzumaki families was unable to become a proper ninja.

Life become a little more unpleasant for little Naruto and his family after that.

Hidden powers within the nation instantly tried all they could to get Minato's position taken away. The many, many things had done during his tenure as Hokage, while beneficial and great for the many people living within the village, there were still plenty with power within the nation that opposed the man's many ideals.

Many simply abuse their power and money to do whatever they please while their laws and wealth protect them. Others openly admit and even broadcast heinous acts that go unpunished because of their power.

Even if Minato did try to act directly against these powerful people, it would very easily backfire and; if not done perfectly, could lead to the complete destruction of his home village. If he tried to just go after one, personally, then all would pay. He could not even risk sending any of his best shinobi to take care of these problem people. Who knew how many of his shinobi actually worked for them?

This also doesn't take into account the many, many people within the village that opposed his methods. All he could do was fight their wicked ways the most legal way possible and with the least amount of bloodshed. Doing everything he could for his wife, son, and home.

Naruto had his own share of problems. He would hear people whisper in the streets whenever he passed by. Their words were not nice.

Parents had begun encouraging their children to bully the poor boy for his disability. Calling him a freak and a loser, among much more harsh words and even some violent actions.

No one was dumb enough to do anything truly outrageous, but the bulling was obvious enough that Naruto was forced to leave daycare until he was old enough to enter into the village's academy.

The academy had a basic educational course that all students had to start out in that would eventually split into two separate educational routes as students would graduate from each grade.

So everyone in the village was at least given a basic education as well as self defense training.

Naruto was well on his way to being a normal civilian of Konohagakure until one terrible day.

"This sucks." Naruto complained as he glanced out of the large classroom window. Rains was pouring down in sheets, making the future walk home a completely miserable mess; plus the upcoming gym class. The boy looked almost like a spiting image of his father; except for his short stature and his appreciation of terrible, terrible orange jumpsuits.

"What's the matter Naruto? Afraid of a little water?" A voice snarked next to him. Said voice belonged to the one and only Inuzuka Kiba, the son of the Inuzuka clan head, Tsume. The clan was famous for it's use of trained canines and was rumored to even be able to understand and talk to them.

Kiba was still just a little too young to be taking his own hound out of the compound just yet.

The boy wore a thick hooded jacket that had fur all along the cuffs and the hood. He always kept the hood up, and with the facial tattoos he had; two triangular streaks going down below each eye, he gave off the impression of a wild dog.

Naruto shot the Inuzuka a dirty look. "I'm _afraid _I'll have to deal with the stick of wet dog for the rest of the day."

"Why you!" Kiba jumped to his feet and was prepared to teach Naruto a lesson when...

"What are you two idiots doing?" An exasperated voice asked from behind. Said voice belonged to none other than Uchiha Sasuke, son of the Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku. The clan was considered one of the strongest in all of the nations worldwide and the strongest in the village on par with that of another family, the Hyuuga.

The secret behind the Uchiha's strength was in their blood-line; a special eye-based technique that very few understood the power behind.

Sasuke wore an admittedly bland outfit that was mostly just a blue shirt with gray shorts, his family's crest was on the back of the shirt; a red and white fan. The boy always had something on him that symbolized his family. The Uchiha had an almost egotistical amount of pride in their clan's ability.

The two other boys greeted their friend and went about chatting before class started. It was only a few days before the students were to perform in front of the staff and be issued to continue their education down the path of the shinobi, or a normal civilian. Many of the students were already training their hardest to get into the best classes that the academy had to offer.

It was a pretty stressful time, if you had the capability to become a ninja.

"I can't wait to show off!" Kiba yapped excitedly. "I'll finally be able to bring Akamaru with me."

"You better impress." Naruto responded with a smirk. "My dad said that he himself will be one of the people to determine who goes to what side of the school." His voice held a lot of pride. Sure, he was not capable of taking part in the test and was a little bummed out about that, but that did not mean he was going to be jealous of his friends.

Or at least verbally admit to it.

Sasuke stuck out his chest before responding. "I think your father will have no problem finding my performance to be the best this year. Nothing can top an Uchiha."

"I don't know about that Sasuke." Naruto responded before leaning back into his seat. "I topped your mom pretty good last night." Naruto jabbed, causing Kiba to burst out laughing. Childish humor of children.

Sasuke growled before lunging at Naruto and the two began to wrestle about and cause a good amount of ruckus in the classroom.

The teacher came into the room and shouted for everyone to settle down before class began and things went about like normal.

Lighting began to flash across the dark sky as the day progressed. The roar of thunder was almost deafening to the people within the academy. It was is if the heavens themselves were shouting out and attacking some unseen evil present upon the Earth.

It had become so dark and the rain so thick that it was nearly impossible for anyone to make anything out just a few feet away. It was as if the world was ending.

"Alright students!" A female teacher called out. School had just ended and now practically everyone was gathered at the entrance, preparing to go home. The teacher and students all had large yellow umbrellas so that they could be easily seen through the heavy rain.

"I am going to escort each of you to your homes. It is far too dangerous for you kids to go alone." She explained. "The academy has already called your families to let them know that you will be getting home late."

"This sucks." Naruto complained as he got into the large group of students.

"You said that already." Sasuke grumbled. The yellow umbrella always made the boy feel like he was being treated like a preschooler, with their bright yellow hats and needing be chaperoned about.

"I'll keep saying it until it stops sucking." Naruto shot back before finally walking out from the cover of the school building. The group had already begun to leave the academy grounds.

"You both suck." Kiba gave a barking laugh.

Kiba had made the decision to forgo the yellow umbrella and just pull his coat hood up to keep his head dry. And it worked; for about fifteen seconds. The force and amount of rain was enough to easily soak through the boy's clothes and he was completely waterlogged in just a few seconds later.

Now the young boy had to walk next to the teacher under her large umbrella just to keep himself from getting any more wet than he already was, if that was even possible. Needles to say, his two friends were more than happy to rail on him the entire trip home.

The large group of kids got smaller and smaller as they arrived at each house and insured that they all made it inside safely. The group did get intercepted on occasion by the parent of a child or two and would take them home themselves, but the total trip still took a good amount of time.

Finally, it was just Naruto and the teacher. The boy walked behind the woman silently, and she did not make any kind of effort to talk to the boy. And he did nothing to initiate any conversation.

This had become the norm for the boy. The feeling of complete disappointment radiating off of those around him, aimed at him, it was his life. The disappointed glares and jeer filled remarks from the villagers never really got to little Naruto. He had his loving family and his fun friends who stuck around with him and did their best to help him forget about the glaring eyes constantly trying to bore their way into his gentle mind.

It took Naruto only a moment recognize the street he was on. They had finally made it to his parents home!

Naruto reached forward to let the teacher know, only for her to suddenly dash forward out of his reach and vanishing within the wall of rain.

The boy barely had time to question why his teacher suddenly sprinted away before a gloved hand grabbed him by the wrist. Before he could scream, another gloved hand slammed itself against his mouth, keeping the boy quiet.

Faster than the boy could think, he found his hands and feet bound together and his mouth tapped shut. His attacker was careful to make sure that the boy did not see even the smallest amount of skin, or do anything that give away whoever it was.

Lighting flashed as the boy was tossed over the shoulder of his captor. The clearly large adult carried Naruto far and, with the jumping around and building hopping that they were doing, it was perfectly clear to the boy that it was a ninja that had captured him.

Naruto tried his best to thrash about and wiggle his way free from the mysterious figure's grasp. He had no success.

Naruto's thrashing grew more and more desperate as they neared the village's outer walls and eventually outside of the village itself. Naruto had ever been outside of his home village and was now more terrified than ever.

He was completely vulnerable out here. Being the son of the Hokage made him a prime target for even the smallest of bandits. So, even if he somehow got himself loose and away from the kidnapper, he would still have to find his way back while avoiding nearly anyone he might possibly come across.

Every drop of rain that his his exposed skin stung as he was quickly carried through the village. The flashing lighting and booming thunder were little more than a minor distraction to both him and his captor.

After what felt like an hour of travel, Naruto just stopped struggling. He had worn himself out and had finally come to grasps with the futility of trying to wriggle free.

Night had finally fallen and, coupled with the heavy rain, the world had become pitch black. Naruto could not see what they were traveling past or how far away his home was. He would be completely lost if he somehow managed to get away.

Eventually, the kidnapper came to a halt on the ground in the middle of nowhere. Naruto could only see when lighting stuck; and what it revealed scared him.

The kidnapper had taken Naruto far from Konoha and had brought him to a massive fissure located in the middle of the land's dense forest. Another flash of lightning revealed the walls of the deep crack to be lined with massive stone spikes, clearly created recently by a ninja technique. Why was not clear since there was a very, very low probability that the kidnapper was strong enough to use a technique to make the walls close in.

Regardless, the fissure appeared deep enough that not even the flashes of lightening could illuminate the body. If Naruto fell down there, death would be the only outcome.

Naruto was dropped onto the ground unceremoniously before being dragged over to the very edge of the cliff. The kidnapper finally made a noise; a sigh.

"This ain't your fault kid." The voice belonged to a man who could not be any older than forty. Naruto was never good at guessing ages. "Your dumb daddy should have known better than to stick his nose in other people's business. Getting rid of his kid should send that message loud and clear."

He reached down and grabbed Naruto by his tied ankles with both hands. Naruto tried to kick the man's hands away, but his grip was too strong to shake off.

"I still don't get why the boss wanted you to die like this. A simple knife to the back would have worked just fine."

With a mighty toss, Naruto was hurled through the air over the fissure. His eyes were wide as tears streamed down his rain soaked cheeks; mixing in with the water and making his pathetic expression that much more desperate.

Time slowed as Naruto experienced his first ever moment of weightlessness. He could seethe back of his kidnapper as he walked away, without a care in the world as he hovered over the massive land scar.

That feeling of weightlessness soon passed and was quickly replaced with falling. All the boy could do was give a muffled scream through the binding on his mouth as he fell down the impassible crevice. The sky quickly became a shrinking slit surrounded by darkness and sharp shapes.

This was how he was going to die. Naruto was terrified and begged with all he had towards every deity he knew to save his young soul.

One must have listened, or at least heard a mumble. Since, instead of splattering all over the floor of the massive crack, the back of Naruto's head smashed onto the very corner of one of the stone spikes.

The stone tip broke off and Naruto's world instantly went black. He was unaware of his body slamming into several other stone spikes as it continued downward. He did not know of the many broken bones he now had as his young form finally came crashing down on the soaked stone of the massive cave.

He was not awake to see the pillar that his head had broken held a metal container. He did not see the crack that had formed on said container and was now leaking a black gooey substance. His eyes had closed long before the strange goo slowly traveled down the slick spikes before finally landing on the boy's chest.

Nor was he aware of the goo soaking through his clothes and directly into his skin. He did not even notice the black mess slowly spreading all over every inch of his young body before soaking itself into his flesh.

Naruto had no idea what he had just become.

* * *

Time passed. The storm eventually did as well.

The night came and went. The sun did the same.

Three whole days passed by as Naruto's tied up body rested in a heap on the floor of a massive fissure.

Three whole days went by were not a single human soul passed near the area. Where only the sounds of the still dripping water from the spiked wall could be heard echoing throughout the tight rock walls.

The blond boy slowly began to regain consciousness as a particularly bright beam of sunlight had somehow found it's way past every single wall spike, just to land perfectly on Naruto's right eye.

The first thing that hit the boy was the amount of dull pain he was in. Every single inch of his body hurt and felt tired and worn. It was like his very first self-defense class at the academy, which left him nearly prone on the school floor out of sheer exhaustion.

The second, was what sounded like rapid and jittery whispering in his ear. Naruto tried to ignore it and just lay on the cave floor so he would not have to use his aching limbs, but it slowly got louder and louder before suddenly going completely silent.

Naruto waited for a moment to see of the strange noise would return, and after several seconds of waiting, it did not.

_**'WAKE UP!'**_ A voice screamed loudly, startling Naruto enough to not just wake up up completely, but to force him to sit straight up. He shot his head back and forth trying to find whatever had decided to scream at his sleeping body. But nothing but the near total darkness of the cave could be seen.

With a pained groan, Naruto got to his aching feet and stumbled around for a moment on the slick stone floor before finally steadying himself. He looked back up and could tell that he should have died from the fall. But, here he was, alive and kicking.

Maybe the desperate prayers he had uttered right before his fall had been heard and his life spared. Or maybe he had just gotten really lucky.

Either way, Naruto now needed to focus on trying to get out of the strange cave. He could spend all the time he wanted in figuring out why he had been cast into this chasm after he has escaped from it. If that was even possible.

He reached out in the near darkness for the crossest wall and eventually found it.

The wall was slick from water and it was impossible for Naruto to get a good enough of a grip anywhere. He looked up once again and began to doubt that even if he could find a starting point that he would even have the strength to climb all the way to the top.

That doubt soon turned into a fear that settled at the bottom of the boy's gut. He was miles away from home and possibly any traveled roads. Nobody was going to just wander by and find him here. He had to think of some way of getting himself out.

"Hey!" Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted up at the entrance to the cave. "Can anyone hear me?! I need help!" He recoiled a bit from the sound of his own voice echoing loudly. That was very strange.

He chose to ignore that strange pain and, with a hand on the cave wall, started to walk forward on the slippery floor in search of a way out.

Naruto walked in the darkness for enough time that the sun had already vanished out of sight. Or, at least in regards to the cave, the sky was till bright and blue.

Naruto finally gave up after a little more time walking. Nothing changed around him. The sliver of sky was still in the same place, the spikes still lined the wall, and the floor was still slick and difficult to walk on.

He might as well have just sat still and done nothing, at least then he wouldn't be as worn out from an unnecessary walk.

Too tired to do much else, Naruto leaned his back against the wet cave wall and slid down into a huddled position. It was colder than he thought. He was also very hungry. Much more so than he had ever been before. The fear of not being found must have distracted him from the growling in his gut up until now.

"What am I going to do?" Naruto groaned while tucking his head into his folded legs. Thought of his parents frantically trying to find him filled his mind. His father, angrily shouting at everyone to search harder. His mother going out in her own for hours and hours looking for her lost child; calling his name and getting no reply. Her angry face marred by dirt and tears.

And it was all his fault. It was because of him that his parents were worried about him. To be honest, a lot of their problems before this were because of him.

Maybe him dying down here was for the best of everyone?

_**'Someone's close.' **_That strange voice from before suddenly echoed within Naruto's head. Once again, Naruto looked about within the darkness for any sign of another form of life being near him.

There was none.

"Hello?" He called out cautiously. There was no response besides his own echo.

_**'Back pocket.' **_The voice instructed. Now that he was no longer in a straight panic, Naruto could clearly focus on the voice. It was not a voice one would associate with a human, more of that of a demon. Deep and monstrous with a nasty underlying growl. It was simply not a voice that would be good at comforting or keeping anyone calm.

Naruto decided to trust the voice and tried to stand, only for a massive spike of hunger pains to suddenly course through his entire body. It was enough that Naruto had to hold his gut and double over in pain. His forehead was firmly planted on the wet stone floor; the cold being a slight distraction from the pain.

He had to take a few calming breaths before finally reach back towards one of his back pockets and feeling something that he had completely forgotten about. A flare tag.

Of course, Naruto being a kid that just barely entered his teens and had just been kidnapped and tossed down a deep hole in the ground; forgetting something important like that is forgivable.

Naruto's father had given the flare tag to his son in the off chance someone did successfully take him away. Normally, a small amount of chakra was all that was needed to activate the tag. Since the boy was unable to use chakra at all, Minato had to make some work around to make it so that his son could actually use it.

Surprisingly, the rain had not smudged the tag at all and the seal was still present and waiting to be finished. Now all Naruto had to do was complete one tiny little part of the written seal. He had no ink or anything to write with. He frantically looked around for anything that could be used to complete the seal.

But, of course, there was nothing but useless water.

A new panic began to set inside Naruto. He did not have much time before whoever had wandered close would be too far away to see the flare, he had to think of something quick to use to complete the seal.

He ran his hand over the wet wall, hoping he could at least get a smudge of something on his hand. But, no, his hand pulled back nothing but water. He tried the floor.

"Ow!" Naruto helped as he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his thumb and yanked the appendage up to see the damage. There was nothing but the smallest droplet of blood forming on the very tip of his thumb. Strange, there was nothing sharp on the ground before.

Naruto quickly focused back on the task at hand and used the single drop of blood to complete the seal. Instantly, the bottom of the paper tag caught fire and the boy was forced to toss it away just before it suddenly launched itself up and out of the cave. The tag flew higher still until the flame at the bottom reached the very end of the painted seal.

The paper tag hovered in the air for a moment before violently exploding in a bright orange light with an ungodly loud explosion. The echo of the explosion through out the cave suddenly struck Naruto's ears.

The boy instantly threw his hands up to cover his ears as the sudden pain completely overwhelmed the poor and forced him down to his knees. A loud scream of pain tore itself from his throat as he felt like every inch of him was being torn apart. Every part of him was wracked with more pain than he thought a human could physically experience.

He could have sworn that there was a second voice screaming in pain just above him; but the viscous ringing in his ears and the pounding against his skull made it impossible for Naruto to focus on anything else.

Eventually the sound died down and Naruto was able to pick himself up off the wet cave floor. He looked up just in time to see something peeking over the lip of the fissure.

"Hey!" Naruto called out while waving a hand. "Down here! I need some help!" For a moment, Naruto hesitated in his waving. There was a chance that the person who had just found him might belong to one of his father's many, many enemies and would possibly take this opportunity to end him here and now.

Two more unknown figures poked their heads over the edge right as the first started leaping down the side of the cliff. The figure leapt from spike to spike, making their way down; showing that if nothing else, they were a trained shinobi instead of some random civilian.

The person landed in front of Naruto and easily towered over the small boy. The person wore a large tan trench coat as well as one of white animal-themed masks associated with the legendary ANBU; the best of the best that any ninja village had to offer.

The shinobi was clearly female, seeing as she had her breasts on full display, with only the tight fishnet and very edge of her coat blocking Naruto's view of the smallest bit of exposed skin. The woman's hair was a dark purple and was held up in a single spiky ponytail. Naruto could not recognize what animal the face-mask was meant to represent; it just looked like one of the generic ones that they often sold during festivals.

She leaned forward and stared Naruto right in the face. "Oh shit." She breathed before turning her attention upward to her cohorts.

"It's the Hokage's kid!" She shouted, not noticing Naruto quickly covering his ears before the painful echo could harm him. It was still strange how something as minor as an echo seemed to hurt Naruto now.

The lad quickly put his arms down just as the ANBU lady looked back down at him. "Kid, it is your lucky day." She stuck out her ample chest, making it's already impressive size that much more so. "You're gonna' be saved by Konoha's best kunoichi." The woman jabbed a finger to her chest. "Me; the strong and beautiful, Mitarashi Anko."

"Uh." Naruto had no idea how to respond. In fact, his pervy little mind was still trying to will the woman's trench coat to move. He was a budding teenager after all; the desire to see a good set of tits was already implanted within him. Soon, it will develop into a healthy appreciation.

Anko, clearly seeing that the young teen was focused on her fantastic rack could not hold in her laugh. "Like 'em?" She rocked her chest back and forth, nearly letting a good enough view of her nipple slipping out. "You and everyone else kid. Unlike everyone else though, today is the day that you can proclaim that you coped a feel of the dangerous Anko as she saved your scrawny ass."

Without giving the boy time to prepare, Anko swung her arms around the boy and pulled him close. Smashing his face right in between her heavenly breasts. She looked down and chuckled. "Take advantage while you can kid, it's gonna' be a good few years before you're old enough to enjoy the real thing."

Naruto tried to pull his face free, but the woman was much stronger than him and she was holding onto the kid tightly.

"Now hold on. We're heading straight home." She leapt up onto one the nearest wall spikes. "No stops and no slowing down!"

With a speed Naruto could never hope to match, the woman easily jumped from spike to spike. Within less than a minute, the two were out of the cave and were on the move towards their home. Jumping from tree to tree; the woman's arms keeping Naruto in position while also protecting him from in whipping branches.

Anko's cohorts quickly followed without saying a word.

As they traveled, Naruto took a moment to mentally thank that strange monster voice that had helped him back in that cave. Though he did not see whatever the voice belonged to, he wished it well and hoped that maybe he would be able to repay it one day in the future.

Knowing that it was going to take a little while for the group to return to the village, Naruto decided it best to settle in and just enjoy the ride. The very, very comfy ride.

He tried to resist, but he could not fight the instinctive urge to close his eyes and nuzzle further into the busty bosom that felt, just _so _good. A soft sigh escaped the boy's lips.

_**'Oh...' **_Naruto's eyes snapped open. _**'That's nice.'**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Naruto's return home was one filled with great joy; to no one's surprise. The instant he was brought to the Hokage' Tower he found himself enveloped in the tight, loving embrace of his mother and father. Their absolute joy in having their child safely returned to them radiated off them like a heater and filled Hokage's office with a warm glow.

When Minato had heard that his son had gone missing, complete and total dread filled the man. His mind instantly went through every possibility of what could have happened to his beloved son. Ranging from him simply taking a wrong turn on his way home, to being sold as a slave to some horrid dictator. The mere thought of which sent the man into an instant rage.

He instantly ordered every available shinobi to be on the look out for his missing son. If they were not preoccupied with any other duty, they were to be searching every corner of the village for Naruto. Considering that this was the man's son, his harsh orders were understandable.

Until his son was returned to him, every waking second was devoted to finding the boy.

Same could be said for the man's wife. Kushina instantly went into a blind rage upon hearing her son had gone missing. Her first instinct was to outright murder the teacher in charge of walking her precious child home.

It took nearly three entire squads of the village's best trained shinobi to hod her back from tearing the other woman apart. And she would have been successful if the interrogation that the school teacher had gone under proved that she had been under control of a Genjutsu that had shown her own child hurt and running away.

Even through her anger and fear, Kushina could not fault another mother for fearing for her own child above someone else's. That did not mean that Kushina was any less mad about the woman abandoning her son in the middle of a heavy storm.

Like her husband, Kushina spent every waking moment searching around the village for her lost child. She neglected her usual duties and had to be forced by her beloved husband to eat and sleep.

But now, Naruto was back safe at home with them. Everything was once again right with the world with any and all worried the couple had for their child instantly washing away with their loving embrace.

While the rest of her team saw that there was no need for them to stick around, Anko tried to at least see if she could weasel some sort of reward out of the Hokage while he was too consumed by joy to think properly.

Before she had to opportunity to ruin such a happy moment, her squad mates quickly yanked her out of the room and silently closed the door.

After finally letting out all their relief at seeing their child once again, Minato and his wife sat little Naruto down to discuss what had happened. And the boy told them everything.

He instantly became very excited

He had no reason to not tell his parents of the shinobi that had taken him, or of the fall that he clearly should not have survived. He did not think to not tell his loving family of the voice that had helped him escape that dark cavern.

As Naruto spoke on and on about his harrowing adventure, his parents risked worried glances between each other. Naruto, not being trained to notice such minor movements, did not notice the expressions his parents sent to one another and continued to talk in an excited tone. They both were thinking the same thing.

He had told his parents about how he had hit his head on something and everything went dark. Then Naruto spoke of that strange voice. To his parents; the fear that their child may have suffered severe trauma to his brain seemed all too real.

After their precious child had finishing telling his tale, his father spoke. "Naruto, do you," He paused for a moment to glance at his wife; who gave a nod. They needed to nip this in the bud. "Do you still hear that voice you heard in the cave?"

_**'Yes.' **_Naruto could hear the voice chuckle. _**'I am still here. I will always be here.'**_

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah." He responded. His tone was like that of someone simply talking about their day. "I can still hear it. It said it'll always be here." He paused for a moment. "It's laughing now."

"Is the voice telling you anything else?" Kushina asked. She had to be careful of her tone. She did not want her son to think something was wrong, but even as a trained shinobi it was unbearably difficult for the woman to not let her concern show through her voice.

Naruto sat and tried to listen closely, but he heard nothing else from the strange voice. Sitting still for so long finally reminded Naruto of the pain in his stomach. It had dulled slightly during the reunion with his parents, but he could feel it slowly getting stronger and stronger.

"Um. Can I eat?" Naruto held his aching stomach.

Kushina and Minato paused for a moment before realizing that their son had been missing for the past few days. If his story was anything to go by, he had not eaten since lunch on the day of his kidnapping.

"Of course honey." Kushina said before standing up. She looked to her husband. "I'll go home and feed him before I take him to a doctor."

Minato nodded before reaching over and ruffling his son's messy hair. "A bath probably wouldn't hurt either."

"Sure." Naruto laughed as his dad's ruffling pushed his head down a bit. It always surprised Naruto at just how strong his dad was despite his relatively average frame.

The young boy then looked to his mother. "Why do i need to go to the doctor?"

"It's just to check and make sure that nothing is broken." The woman explained quickly. "You said you hit your head pretty hard and me and your dad are just worried. That's all." She ended with a motherly smile, making Naruto forget the question he had asked in the first place.

The woman took her son by the hands and the two made their farewells to Minato and made their way back the Uzumaki home.

Minato waved his family off with a smile. The instant the door closed, his smile instantly faded away just as two shinobi appeared from seemingly nowhere, behind him.

"Find who took my son." His voice held no room for argument. "Bring them to me." It was a pointless order. His shinobi were still on high alert for the kidnapper. The only reason to repeat it was to insure that the person that had snagged his son was not off the hook just because the boy had returned.

Minato was going to have this person found. And he was going to hurt them.

Bad.

Just as quickly word had spread upon Naruto's kidnapping, word of his return was already spread throughout the large village. So, on the walk home, the mother-son pair were greeted by a good number people speaking positively about Naruto's return home.

Upon finally arriving at their residence, Kushina instantly went to work cooking up a meal for her son. Naruto, being the impatient little child he was, instantly went to the fridge and began to look for at least a quick bite to sate his hunger.

Sadly, because his parents had been so focused on finding their son, they had neglected to fill the fridge except for what little Kushina was using to cook. This left Naruto more than a little dissapointed.

So, the boy resigned himself to waiting at the dinner table while holding his aching gut.

"After your doctor visit," Kushina spoke as she went about the kitchen. "Would you mind helping your poor mother with some grocery shopping?"

The thought of more food instantly perked Naruto up. "Can I pick out the snacks!?" He asked excitedly.

Kushina giggled at her son's enthusiasm about an admittedly dull task.

After a little while of waiting, Naruto was finally able to eat. And so he did. He ate every bite in front of him; asked for more, and ate that as well. He continued t eat more and more. More that Kushina could remember the boy ever eating.

She also noticed that he would keep going for any and all meat before eating anything else. It was a little odd, but Kushina just chalked it up to him not having eaten in so long.

After everything was gone, Naruto stared forward in dismay.

He was still hungry!

Even as he stuffed food in his face he could feel the twinge of hunger eating away at his gut. The meat was able to subside it some, but not nearly enough to be comfortable.

He needed more.

"I'm still hungry." Naruto whined as his mother put their plates into the sink. The woman gave her son a look. "I'm sorry sweety, but we don't have anything else until we get groceries." She turned the sink on. "Now please go take a quick bath and get ready for your visit to the doctor."

Naruto looked out the window and could still see the high sun. Not as much time had passed as he thought sadly. He had hoped it would be too late and the doctor would be closed.

Looking at the clock, it was only 2:14 in the afternoon. Plenty of time for a doctor to poke and prod at little Naruto with every sharp object in the drawer.

Naruto went and did what his mother asked. The warm bath felt very refreshing and getting into some clean clothes made Naruto realize just how bad the clothes he had been wearing stunk.

After his quick cleaning, Naruto ran down stairs to see his mother waiting patiently for him; her soft motherly smile brightening the already sunlit room that much more and forcing a happy smile onto Naruto's young face.

Kushina held out her hand, which little Naruto gladly took, before opening the door and walking her son to the hospital.

As the pair traveled, Kushina kept an eye out for any sign of anyone that might have had a hand in her son's kidnapping. In doing so, she noticed that the few children she and Naruto passed would whisper amongst each other; words making fun of Naruto still walking hand and hand with his mother despite his age.

Naruto did not seem to care. He loved his mother and would think it strange not to show his affection, even if my just holding hands.

Upon arriving to the hospital, the pair were quickly greeted by the staff and lead straight into an exam room. Naruto sat on the examination table as his mother sat in a chair in the corner and began to read a book she had brought along.

The Uzumaki family had only one doctor that was allowed to see the family. Only he and no one else was allowed to enter the exam room. The main reason for this being both the fact that the head of the family was the current Hokage, but also because the three family members were the last known to be alive.

All in all, it would be devastating to the entire village if something were to happen to even one of the members of the small family. So, of course only the best that the village had to offer was allowed to see such valuable clients.

_**'I don't like this.' **_The voice in Naruto's head grumbled as they sat waiting.

Naruto was about to let his mother know about it when the door opened and revealed someone neither family member had ever met before. The man was dressed like one of the hospital doctors as well as held himself in the same manner as a member of the hospital staff. He wore the normal doctor's outfit and appeared to be as plain and normal as everyone else. The only thing one could really use to point the man out from a crowd would be the tiny birthmark on the left side of his nose.

The only problem was, once again, neither Naruto or Kushina knew the man. Neither said a word however.

The man smiled as he glance from son to mother.

"Sorry for the sudden inconvenience, but your regular doctor is out sick today." The man explained. "I was asked by the board directly to see over Naruto. I came right over after hearing about what had happened to the poor kid."

_**'Lies.' **_The voice in Naruto's mind growled.

"So," The man clapped his hands together. "Let's get started." He took a step towards the table.

When he did, Naruto immediately jumped down and ran over to his mother, who was now standing as well. She moved Naruto behind her and glared at the man.

"I don't know you." She stated in a harsh tone. "You are not our doctor." Her eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare.

If the man was nervous of the woman, he did not let it show. "I understand your reservations." The man was quick to reply. "But I can guarantee that I am one of the best that this village has. I am at the very least on par with your current doctor, if not better." The man bragged a little at the end.

_**'Lies.'**_ The voice hissed. _**'This man reeks of death.'**_

Naruto took a moment before deciding to sniff the air. He nearly gagged as a terrible stink invaded his nostrils. He had to take a step back just to regain his breath.

"You alright there?" The doctor took a step forward. Kushina immediately thrust an arm out to separate him from her child. Ever since hearing that Naruto had been kidnapped, the mother had become incredibly cautious of nearly everyone; especially a doctor that she had never met before who was meant to look over her recently returned child.

"I understand your hesitation." The doctor began to plead. "But from what you have told the staff, your son could be in some serious trouble. At least let me do a bare-bones physical exam on him."

Kushina's caution was battling hard with her desire to have her child well cared for. She knew that her son needed the utmost care of what had recently happened; but at the same time, this was a man she had no history with that could potentially be a very real threat to her family.

A moment of hesitation. Just a split second of her questioning herself; and the doctor was suddenly right in front of her son. Kushina did not even notice the man walk past her.

_**'I don't like him.' **_The voice growled deeply. Naruto could swear he could feel the voice rumble through his bones. _**'He reeks too much of death to be a doctor. He had hurt people. He want to hurt us. Hurt you.'**_

"Now come let me have have a look at you." The doctor said kindly as he reached for Naruto. The boy took a few steps back out of reach of the man. He brought a hand up to his nose in an effort to ward off the man's offensive scent.

"Stay away from me." Naruto mumbled as he quickly ran to the side of the examination table opposite his mother and the doctor. "You reek."

Kushina could see the concern in her child's eyes as he distanced himself from the unknown man. Her motherly instincts told her to just take her child and leave, but her worry over her son's potential mental damage made her at least want to wait and see what happens.

The doctor slowly began to try and circle around the table. "Come on now Naruto." His voice was soft and calming as any adult's could be. "I am not going to hurt you, I promise."

_**'Stay away from him. He will hurt you. He will hurt your family. Our family.'**_

"He doesn't like you." Naruto mumbled as he kept his eyes glued on the man and made sure that he moved opposite of the doctor.

The doctor did not halt his attempts as closing the distance between him and the boy. "Now who are you talking about?" He asked, barely paying any attention to his own words.

Naruto paused for a second, trying to think of a way to explain the strange voice in his head.

That moment was all the doctor needed to close the gap between him and his patient. The man quickly rounded the table and snatched Naruto by the wrist. His grip was tight and uncomfortable, squeezing down harder and harder with every second. A feeling of annoyance and anger could be felt from the surprisingly strong hand holding onto Naruto's wrist.

Naruto's first reaction was to yelp out in surprise. His high pitched cry was all that was needed to remind Kushina exactly who she was. Getting lost on what-ifs was never her thing and she was going to be damned if she was going to start now.

Without saying a word, Kushina walked over and grabbed her son by the other arm. With one swift yank, she was able to pull her child free from the doctor's grasp.

The man gave the red-head a shocked expression that quickly changed to fear upon gazing at the mother's new expression, complete rage. With her free hand, the mother reached over and grabbed the man by his collar and easily hoisted him off his feet.

She glared daggers at the man as she watched him struggle to breath. His hands had instantly shot to her wrist and were trying desperately to pull himself free from her iron grasp. Of course, being one of the physically strongest women alive, there was no way that this weak man would ever hope to overpower her.

"You," Her voice was low and threatening. "Will never touch my son again." She twisted the clothing in her hand and brought the struggling man's face closer to her own. "Got it?"

The man could only choke in response. The amount of air able to enter his lungs decreasing with every passing second.

Kushina continued to glare at the man for a moment longer before violently tossing him to the hard floor. The doctor gave a choking cough while trying desperately to inhale enough air back into his lungs.

Without saying another word, Kushina left the hospital room with her child in hand. Her eyes still burned with rage as she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

Why she had acted so hesitantly while in the room? That was a question that she had already answered. She had to have been under the effect of some sort of illusion. A moderately powerful Genjutsu at most, as there was no way in Hell Kushina would have willingly allowed some strange man come close to her recently rescued child.

It was clear that the man posing as the doctor was at least not working alone since the technique only appeared when Kushina began to question his validity as their substitute doctor. She had suddenly began thinking that maybe it was ok for the substitute to look over Naruto. Thinking back, how could she have possibly fallen for such an obvious trick?

Still angry as the pair left the hospital, Kushina was sure to make a mental note to inform her husband of what had happened and to suggest the the hospital staff all be very extensively reviewed.

"Mom?" Naruto's young voice finally spoke out after a few minutes of being dragged around by his mother.

Kushina gave a soft sigh before squatting down to be at eye level with her child. "Honey." She started, instantly making Naruto think something was wrong with her slightly exacerbated tone of voice.

"I don't think I need to tell you that, that man was not a good man. I am sorry for how I acted back there. We should have left the minute that our regular doctor did not walk in, but I was under the control of a powerful ninja technique called a Genjustsu."

Naruto nodded while focusing on his mother. Whatever technique she was talking about must have been really strong to control one of the strongest women around. Though she was also well known for falling for the simplest of Genjutsu; Naruto just did not know that.

"What is that?" Naruto asked. He never paid much attention to the basic lessons on ninja in school since he couldn't be one. He was destined to be just another civilian.

"It is a special technique that ninja can use that creates powerful illusions that can trick the mind into thinking they are real. Even things like taste and smell can appear real to those under the effects." Kushina explained.

"Was that why you didn't stop the man?"

Kushina could hear the betrayal in her son's voice. The underlying fear that his mother; the woman who was meant to care and protect him, would just let someone unknown do whatever they wanted to him, was almost palpable.

"Yes." She replied, shame dripping from her voice. Seeing her son's hurt expression tore away at her very soul. The fact that it was all because she was terrible at identifying Genjustsu just made her that much more upset with herself.

Naruto was now confronted for the first time with the possibility that his parents would not always be able to protect him, even if they were right next to him. The fact that there were people out there that were now stronger than his parents and could cause them to be unable to be there for him when needed.

That thought scared him more than anything. He was just a small kid after all. But at the same time, knowing this filled the boy with a new resolve he had never had before. He wanted to be able to protect his parents when they could not. Maybe even protect his friends too.

The big problem was, how? He was unable to become a ninja, so getting strong the usual way was not something he was capable of. So, just how was he going to make sure that he would be capable of protecting his family from foes that were capable of moving the earth, send chilling winds, and even breath fire?

Kushina gave her son that same warm smile he had come to know and love. "Everything is alright sweety." She tried to reassure the young boy. "That was clearly not the right doctor, so we will schedule an appointment with the regular doctor later." The mother took a deep, calming breath just to make sure she did not sound angry to her child. "Why don't we go get groceries and I'll cook up all of your favorites as a big welcome home meal?"

Naruto instantly forgot his worry as the prospect of a massive meal instantly reminded him of just how hungry he still was.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted happily before walking faster than his mother, leading the way to the nearest grocer. Kushina could not help but smile at her child's enthusiasm and his overall cute demeanor. She was not going to allow anyone to hurt her beloved child ever again.

That night, the Uzumaki home was filled with laughter and joy as both parents celebrated their child's return. Thoughts about what the whole event could mean for the future were put on the back-burner for at least this one night of happiness.

Even after amazing feast his mother had prepared for him, Naruto still felt the pains of hunger eating away at his gut. Nothing he consumed appeared to alleviate that pain.

The family stayed up late into the evening, talking and playing games. All enjoying being a whole family once again. It was not until a little past midnight did everyone finally go to bed. Naruto had never gotten to stay up so late in all his life. Maybe he should get kidnapped more often.

The next day started like any other. Naruto getting out of bed and getting ready for the day. He walked to his bathroom with his eyes half-closed, still barely woken up.

He approached the bathroom sink and closed his eyes for a moment before sighing heavily, giving a big yawn and turning on the faucet. He splashed some water on his face before going about brushing his teeth.

Just another morning for Naruto.

_**'Naruto.'**_

Or so he had hoped.

The boy decided to ignore the voice. As helpful as it had been, he had yet to directly respond to it and would admit to being a little afraid to find out he was just crazy. Normal people simply do not talk to the voice in their head.

_**'Naruto. **_The voice said again. It was clear from it's tone that it was trying to get the boy's attention.

Said boy was just not having any of it and finished brushing his teeth before making his way out of the bathroom.

As he stepped a foot out of the room, he felt two...somethings seemingly grow out of his back. Before he could question the strange feeling, something thick and strong wrapped around his young neck.

Naruto instinctively grasped at the strange object, finding it very smooth to the touch. He tried to pry the thing off only to suddenly be yanked backwards into the bathroom once again.

He was thrown off of his feet and onto the hard floor as he flew into the room. His foot kicked out involuntarily and kicked the bathroom door closed.

The thing wrapped around Naruto's neck unwound itself and seemingly vanished; leaving the poor boy to blink awkwardly at the bathroom ceiling. After laying there on the floor for a moment, he heard the voice grumble before a thick, slick-looking, black tentacle burst forth from his chest and latched onto the cieling directly above him.

With a hard yank, Naruto was flung into the air and forced to land on his feet. The same tentacle released itself from the ceiling before swiftly grabbing onto the wall and forcing Naruto to look back into the mirror.

All he saw was a reflection of his own shocked and scared face.

**_'I think it is time for us to talk.' _**The voice spoke.

Naruto hesitated. He had been sure at first the the voice had belonged to something that was living in the cavern he had been tossed into until he heard it as he was going back home.

While nothing the voice had said could be seen as harmful to the boy or his family. The fact that it was capable of making tentacles sprout out of his young body really did not put Naruto in the mood to chat with it.

_**'Come on now.' **_The voice chided. _**'Don't be like that. After all, it was because of me that you are even still alive.' **_It chuckled darkly. _**'Though, I should also thank you for not just freeing me from my prison, but also for being such a good host. Better than the last few I have had if nothing else.'**_

"U-um."Naruto suddenly found his mouth to be very dry and hard to make words with. "Who are you?"

The voice suddenly exploded into laughter as the mirror in front of Naruto began to grow dark. It became darker and darker until it was completely black and not a thing could be seen reflecting back.

Slowly two milky-white blotches, almost like splashes of pain,t appeared from within the dark reflection right next to each other. Below a large mouth streatched wide, filled with long sharp fangs and a long ark red wriggling tongue.

**"You can call me, Venom." **The reflection spoke. **"And you are my new ride."**

Naruto took a shaky step back away from the mirror only for two black tentacles to burst out from his shoulders, grip the walls, and force the boy to stay right where he stood.

**"You can't run from me, Naruto." **It chuckled. **"I am with you always and forever. And there is nothing you can do to get rid of me."**

"Wh-wha-wha?" Naruto was trembling something awful as he tried to force his terrified mind to form at least one coherent word. Almost as if by complete irony, yesterday Naruto was afraid that his parents might not always be able to protect him; and now, there was nothing able to keep him safe from whatever this thing was.

**"What am I?" **The reflection answered the boy's unasked question. **"I am a monster. Pure and simple." **It paused for a moment. **"More? I'm a monster that is living inside of you. I can see everything you see, hear everything you hear and can see into your mind like looking through a clear window. You have no secrets from me."  
**

Tears began to stream down Naruto's cheeks. There were no words that could accurately describe just how scared the boy was. If he had not just recently used the restroom, he was sure he would have wet himself. Flashes of a future that may never come appeared before the boy's eyes as they were all violently ripped away by the hungry maw smiling back at him.

He wanted to run straight for his parents and hope that they would be able to make this terrible creature disappear.

That is, until something clicked in his head.

"Wait." Naruto strained up and shot a glare at the grinning reflection. "It's your fault that I've been feeling so hungry, isn't it?!"

**"Ah, you caught me."** The monster chuckled.

Naruto, having finally regained his mother's aggressive attitude, continued to glare at the darkened mirror. "Why?"

**"Why should I answer you?"**

"Because."Naruto droned as if he was talking to some kind of simpleton. "If you're going to be using me and my body for, whatever it is, I feel like I have the right to know what it is you are using it for and doing to it."

**"Or else what?"**

Naruto did not hesitate to give he rebuttal. "Or else, I'll tell my parents about you."

**"So?" **The monster replied. What could two simple humans do to it that it could possibly be afraid of?

"So," Naruto repeated. "They will dedicate all of their time and resources to getting you out of me. Even of they can't, they can assure that you will be stuck inside without being able to see or do anything until they find out how to get you out."

The creature was silent for a moment.

**"I'm a little impressed with you child." **It chuckled. **"I have made grown men beg for their lives just from the sound of my voice alone; yet you, a small brat, would risk threatening me. Me! A monster that has consumed gods! I could wrap myself completely around you and force you to be nothing more than my puppet!"**It suddenly burst out into a fit of completely terrifying laughter. It's voice booming and seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

Naruto stood his ground despite the chill running up his spine. He was the only one that knew that this monster was inside of him. So, it was up to him to make sure that everyone was kept safe from it. Especially his loving family.

**"Fine," **The creature chuckled. **"Since I am now a part of you, I guess I can tell you a little bit about me."** Venom paused for dramatic effect. Seriously. **"Like I said before, I am a monster. I am a man-eater." **It paused once again. **"I have to eat the living to survive, as well as have a viable host; which you just so happen to be. Regardless of whatever little threats you make, your body is just too good for me to simply give up. So unless you can find me something better, you are stuck with me."**

Naruto continued to stare at the reflection; expecting for it to continue speaking before a realization slowly began to creep it's way into his skull.

"You're eating me?"

**"You guessed it!" **The monster roared with laughter. **"Even if your body is a great host for me, I still need to eat like everything else. I used so much energy keeping you alive in that little hole, so letting me swallow your liver in return sounded like a fair trade."**

Naruto unconsciously moved a hand over his gut. It did not mater if he was able to protect his parents from this monster if it just ended up eating him anyway. He had gone through so many emotions already that the feeling of utter disgust and horror just felt expected at this point.

**"But." **The creature continued. **"From what I have seen from your mind and recent events, I'm coming to like you a bit. So, I will cut you a deal."**

Naruto leaned forward a bit. While he may not like it, working with this thing might be the best option he has at the moment. If only he was just a little bit older, and a little bit wiser, Naruto would have thought to just ignore the thing and just let his parents know. Then he would most likely have gotten the creature removed and went on to lead a normal life.

But no. Naruto was just a child. Not a dumb kid, but also not the brightest bulb in the box at times. Sadly, this was one of those times. In the far future, Naruto would look back at this moment and ruminate on what could have been.

"What kind of deal?" Naruto crossed his arms and eyed the grinning reflection.

Said image gave a low chuckle. **"You work together with me and provide me food, and I will stop treating you like a living buffet and I will help you with whatever it is you need."**

Naruto did not reply immediately. Making deals with demons was something that every child knew not to do. So making something like that with this strange beast would probably not end well for Naruto in the long run.

But, at the same time; to have a monster that was always with him and would be able to help keep him, his family and friends safe. Regardless of the consequences, to keep his important people safe, Naruto was willing to do anything and show that he would be able to do so without being a ninja.

"Alright." Naruto held out a hand towards the mirror. "You got yourself a deal. But if you try any funny business, the deal is off." He failed to realize just how silly he looked, holding an extended arm out to a black mirror.

The monster chuckled once again. **"Oh, you won't have to worry about that. I solemnly swear to do nothing but keep you safe, protect your family, and keep us very well fed."**

It suddenly burst into a fit of wicked cackling which only confused Naruto to no end.

Despite the strange behavior, Naruto did his best to hide a smile that threatened to from on his face. He made another friend, possibly. And a strong friend at that. Plus, they were new to this place so that gave the boy an excuse to travel through the village and show off his awesome home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

**_'Why is no one here?'_ **Venom asked his new host as Naruto made himself a light breakfast. It was still early enough in the morning for just a bowl of cereal to be enough for the boy.

"Mom and dad work during the day. Dad is the Hokage of the village after all and is really busy all the time." He could not hide the small hint of sadness in his voice. Naruto knew how important his dad's job was, but that did not mean he couldn't want to spend more time with his old man. "And mom is still an active shinobi of the village. Though, she has been taking more missions closer to home than she used to; or at least that's what she says."

Venom did not respond.

"Mom always makes it home on time to make dinner though, so it's alright."

Naruto ate bowl after bowl of cereal until they were nearly out;still unable to appease the constant ache in his gut.

_**'That won't work.'** _Venom stated as his host moved to fill his empty bowl with the last remaining bits of cereal he could scrounge out of the box.

"But I thought you said we needed to be well fed?" Naruto questioned as he took his empty bowl to the sink and began to clean said bowl. "I thought it just meant I was eating for two now that was why I'm always so hungry."

_**'True,' **_The monster responded. _**'You are eating for two now, but you are just not eating the right stuff.'  
**_

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked while drying his hands. "Do you not eat what normal people eat?"

_**'I am not a human like you.' **_Venom stated obviously. _**'I can not survive on your kind of foods. I told you that I've been feeding off of you, so that should give you an idea on what I eat. Fresh meat and organs.'**_

Naruo's face soured. "Does that mean I'm gonna' have to start eating bugs or something?" Of course, his young innocent mind would come up with something so harmless.

Venom knew this and chuckled. _**'What a naive child you are. Yes, if it comes to that. But to sate our hunger properly, we will need much larger meals than whatever insects you could find.'**_

"Then what is it that we need to eat then?"

_**'Why don't you just show me your home and maybe we can find a snack along the way?' **_The monster offered. If he simply told his young host outright what was required, the chances of him agreeing and going along with it were slim to none. But, by using a combination of the boy's current ideals and the constant hunger he suffered, Venom might have an easier time convincing his host to do what was necessary.

Excited at the opportunity to show his new monster friend around, Naruto quickly ran for the front door, put on his shoes and ran outside.

"Welcome to Konohagakure." Naruto stated proudly. "The strongest village of ninja in the entire world. My dad runs this village and makes sure that everyone is safe and happy."

Naruto began to walk around his home from place to place, he showed the village off to the monster inside of him. He went about showing the academy, the many stores and restaurants in the business district, and even some of the clan compounds in the more wealthy parts of town.

Each and everyplace Naruto decided to show off, Venom would make some sort of comment. Most of them were in regards to feeding and finding food with the occasional sprinkling of the word 'hunt' or 'hunting' thrown about. But he never elaborated further than that.

While walking about the village, Naruto felt a strange presence always around him. It was like some massive hulking thing was standing right over him; matching step by step and make the same movements he made.

With Venom now residing within him, the boy never had that feeling of being alone as he went down street after street. Even when empty, the feeling that there was someone right there, just out of sight, never left him.

While his parents did work on the weekdays and his friends were often busy with family or training, Naruto would never consider himself to be lonely or anything like that. So the feeling of constantly being with someone, no matter when or where, was a little unnerving. But, it was ultimately something he was going to have to get use to.

The tour ended as the sun began to fall beyond the horizon. Naruto had decided to end it by showing Venom his favorite place in the entire village, the very top of the Hokage Mountain, on top of the carved head of his father, the Fourth Hokage.

"From here, you can see the entire village." Naruto boasted. "Not many people bother coming up here since there really isn't anything to do, so it's a good place to clear your head and think." He sat down to enjoy the cool breeze.

_**'Your head will never be clear with me around.' **_Venom chuckled. _**'This is a good hunting spot though.'**_

Having heard Venom mention hunting all throughout the little tour, Naruto had finally gotten tired of hearing the word.

"If your talking about finding that fresh meat and guts you mentioned." Naruto paused for a moment before nodding his head. "Then yeah, I guess this is as good a view as any to see where all the best meat markets are in the village."

Venom gave an audible groan of irritation. His host's innocence was starting to rack on his nerves.

_**'Let me show you what I really mean.'**_It continued to rant for a bit._** 'I just do not understand how you went from correctly guessing that we would need to eat insects, at least, back to incorrectly guessing at dead meat. You were right on the ball then just dropped it.'**_

"We excuse me for guessing." Naruto huffed. His new monster was strange.

_**'Whatever.' **_Venom dropped the subject. _**'Unfortunately, while I would rather be the one hunting, your young body is just too weak to handle all of my power right now. So it will have to be you that hunts for us both. I will have to teach you how to use our power.'**_

Ignoring the stuff about hunting, Naruto's eyes lite up at the prospect of actually training. The thought that he could actually learn and be taught powers and techniques like a shinobi instantly elated the young boy beyond words.

"Will I be able to become a ninja?!" Naruto asked excitedly. He could already see himself taking down armies of enemy shinobi single highhandedly and the crowds of people cheering his name.

_**'You could,' **_Venom responded honestly. _**'But then you would have to explain to your beloved parents why their child was suddenly super strong and had tentacles sprouting out everywhere. I would assume their response would be less than pleased. That's not even getting into when I will be able to take control completely and really shake things up.' **_He laughed at the last bit.

Naruto's mood instantly soured. His shoulders slouched and the sparkle in his eye faded.

_**'Aw, don't worry. If you did become a shinobi, you would have to eventually leave the village. If you did that, then who would protect your family and home? Sure there are others here to protect it, but it could never be guaranteed unless we remain here.' **_Venom tried to reason.

Naruto could see the reasoning behind the monster's words. How could he possibly make sure that his parents were safe if he wasn't around to make sure of it? Sure, his dad was the strongest ninja around, and his mom was not too far off from that; but they were still human and a surprise attack could easily get to them as anyone else.

"I guess that makes sense."

Again, Naruto was just too young to see what Venom's true motives were. Still not a complete puppet to the creature, but could be persuaded to do at least some of what the monster desired. There was some resistance though, making working with him not a complete bore.

_**'Good, now let us finally grab a bite to eat.' **_Naruto could practically hear the monster's tongue slurp about. _**'Take us to the woods and prepare yourself for your first hunt.'  
**_

Naruto got to his feet and began the long trek to one of the closest training grounds that dotted the village. With his home having so many ninja, finding one was not that hard of a task. It was finding one the was not being used that would be the challenge.

The closest training area was not that far away from the Hokage Mountain and appeared to have just recently been used if the gashes on the ground and piles of sawdust were anything to go by.

_**'This will work.' **_Venom mumbled. _**'Now, to start. I want you to close your eyes and focus. You should start to feel a kind of...tingling in your head.'**_

Curious, Naruto did as he was told. He closed his eyes, took a deep calming breath and tried to do the same stuff his dad talked about when he tried to teach Naruto about meditation.

First, calm yourself. Then try to force out all distractions, including thoughts not pertaining to the one thing you are trying to focus on.

Without even having to do the second step, Naruto could feel a strange tingling coming from the back of his skull. It was like a strange tickle directly on his brain.

_**'Feel that? That is our hunting sense. It kind of lets us know when there are other living things around us.' **_Venom explained. _**'It can also be used as a kind of early warning system for danger and possible threats. It's sorta' always on too. Now, where do you feel it?'  
**_

"It kind of tickle on the back of my head." Naruto described the strange sensation.

_**'That is the direction of a large enough form of life that can be considered a meal. The intensity of the sensation depends on both the size of the life form as well as how threatening it may or may not be.'**_

"It doesn't fell that strong?" Naruto was not really sure what the monster meant by the feeling becoming more 'intense', but right now it didn't seem to be that bothersome.

_**'Good, that means whatever we have found is either pretty small, or not a threat. Now go find it.'**_

Naruto jogged over to where the strange feeling directed him. It took the boy a few minutes of searching, but he was finally able to locate his target. A common brown squirrel that was sitting about on a tree branch. All the while he looked about, Naruto used that odd tickling sensation to find the small animal; finding the fact that the strange feeling changed direction pretty useful in finding the goal.

_**'Finally!' **_Venom hissed loudly, the sound of gnashing fangs and slithering tongue almost deafening to Naruto. _**'Snack time!'**_

Naruto's right arm suddenly reached out towards the small mammal. The appendage almost instantly became black tentacle that stretched out and quickly snagged the squirrel.

The small animal did not have the time to even attempt an escape as the long limb quickly wrapped itself around the warm-blooded beast and brought it right back to Naruto.

Naruto was shocked by the sudden action, but quickly got over it when the small animal was brought close to his face.

_**'Eat!' **_Venom's voice nearly screamed.

Naruto looked at the small squirrel. It's little body thrashed about desperate to get away from the tentacle holding it in the air. Naruto had no idea what to do. The squirrel thrashed and twisted itself more and more. But, no matter how much it tried, it only succeeded in tiring itself out. He could see his own scared expression reflecting back on it's small black eyes.

For some reason, Naruto never thought about what hunting actually entailed beyond finding things to eat. His young mind had not come up with the possibility that he would end up killing something.

Despite suddenly regaining control of his changed arm, Naruto could not bring himself to do anything more than hold the terrified rodent.

_**'Eat!'**_ Venom practically roared at his host. _**'We must feed if we wish to survive. If you do not eat, then your lungs will be my next snack!'**_

Naruto could not tear his gaze away from those begging black eyes. "I-I-," Tears began to well up in his own blue eyes.

_**'You can.'** _Venom tried to reassure his host before he could even finish speaking. _**'You must. If we don't feed, we will die. If we die, then who will protect your family? Your friends? Your home?'**_

"B-but, I c-c-." Tears began to trail down his face.

_**'It is simple. Just eat. It is all part of being a hunter. You've seen dogs do it. You've seen wolf and even greater beasts hunt down their prey. This is no different.'**_

"I'm just a kid!" Naruto shouted.

_**'But you are also a predator now. A creature that must prey on others to survive. It is the natural way of things. Fighting it will do nobody any good.'**_

Naruto did nothing but start pitifully at the captured creature in his grasp. He just could not bring himself to end it's poor life.

Venom let out a loud groan that grew into an enraged roar before going completely silent. He had to get his host to eat. Even if all he ate was this tiny little morsel, anything was better than just giving up such a compatible host.

Plus, getting him used to snacking on the small things would help him eventually work up to the larger and more filling meals out there. Venom just needed to find a way to make Naruto understand his new place in the world's food-chain; the top.

_**'Just,'**_ Venom's voice had become calm and had taken on a new and reassuring tone; almost like that of a teacher. _**'Why don't you just taste it first?'**_

Naruto still gave the captured creature in his grasp a hesitant look. He could not even imagine himself taking a nip of the small animals' ear, let alone biting into it. The thought was just too horrid to think about.

_**'Here.' **_Venom said gently as he moved the tip of the tentacle holding the creature. With a quick swipe of the appendage, a small cut appeared on the the squirrel's belly. The scratch was so small and close to the surface, that just the smallest drop of blood began to form from it.

_**'Try it.' **_His demonic voice whispered oh so gently in Naruto's mind. _**'That is all you have to do. If you don't like it, then we will just have to try something else. Right?'  
**_

A sudden strike of agonizing hunger suddenly tore through Naruto's body. Forcing the youth to double over in pain and for his mouth to begin to salivate at the prospect of food. That squirrel was starting to look less like a terrified cute animal, and more like a mouth watering snack.

Naruto quickly shook that thought out of his head, but was unable to remove Venom's suggestion from within his mind.

He stared at the creature once more and could feel his tongue swimming in saliva as the ache in his stomach become worse and worse. The past two days, the pain would eventually go away, or at least dull a bit to be nothing more than an annoyance. Right now, it was gnawing at his very mind. The desire to fill his belly was becoming almost too much too bear.

Slowly, Naruto opened his mouth; allowing the pool of saliva he had accumulated to pour freely from his lips. He slowly brought his dripping tongue out from within his hungry mouth and stuck it as far out as he could.

With a small jerk, the tentacle moved the squirrel just enough fro the one single droplet of blood to finally fall and land perfectly on Naruto's red tongue.

Time felt like it had come to a complete halt. Naruto could feel, something, run through every single fiber of his body. A feeling excitement and irritation. A feeling of utter bliss and complete agony. Simple words could not describe how he felt as that one single drop of blood ran over his tongue and down his throat.

He could feel the warm liquid trail down his throat and leave a euphoric sensation with every cell it touched. His stomach almost instantly stopped it's constant cramping and crying for food upon the one little drop landing within it.

But, it was not enough. He needed more.

As satisfying as that one single drop was, it was like comparing a marinade to a steak. One could drink it and still feel less hungry, but in reality it was nothing more than something to enhance the flavor of the main dish. Something that you could swallow a lot of but never truly feel satisfied.

He needed more.

Naruto looked back to his trapped prey. He could not stop his tongue from licking his dry lips as the animal became so much more appealing as a meal. The taste of its adrenaline was still fresh on his tongue. Mixing in with the scent of its fear.

It was an amazing dish just begging to be consumed!

Any feelings of disgust had vanished an all Naruto could think about was sinking his teeth into the warm, squirming flesh in front of him. But, there was still that small voice of hesitation in the back of his mind; screaming for him to not do what his stomach begged for.

_**'This is right.'**_ Venom whispered. _**'This is how it is meant to be.**_

His words were encouraging, like a teacher whose student was unsure of their own skill. _**'With me, you have become so much more than you were before. This is the price you must pay for my power. The more you eat, the stronger we get.'  
**_

_**'It is the natural order of things.'**_

Slowly, the black tendril began to recede away to reveal Naruto's normal hand gripping the squirrel tightly. Said hand brought the animal closer to naruto's drooling mouth.

He opened his mouth wide; anticipation coursed through his veins as the small animal's head entered his dripping maw.

In one swift motion, Naruto bit down with all of his strength while pulling the creature's body away; tearing the animal's head away with a fountain of blood jetting from the remains of its neck.

Tears began to stream down Naruto's face as the texture of the squirrel's fur rubbed against his tongue. The salt from its eyes mixed with the taste of iron from its blood, creating such a unique flavor that Naruto could not help but moan in approval of the taste. The crunching of the creature's skull between his teeth was like a symphony to his ears.

This was right. This was how things were meant to be. He was a predator that needed to hunt prey. There was no need for Naruto feel bad about his actions or feel apprehensive about taking a life. Life was just that way. Cruel.

Without any hesitation, Naruto swallowed the animal's head before biting into the rest of it's corpse. He would swallow whatever he had in his mouth quickly so that he could fill his stomach that much faster.

He tore open the squirrel's stomach, ripping out the intestines and other inedible bits before once again diving back into his meal. The sound of Naruto's ravenous feeding echoed through out the forest as the blood and gore from his food splattered and fell onto the grass below.

After only a minute or so, Naruto had finished with the dead thing. All that remained was mostly useless organs, the fur and a few bones.

He was still hungry. He still needed to eat.

The sound of moving branches instantly alerted Naruto to another squirrel running across the forest canopy. Without a second thought, a black tentacle shot out from his shoulder and quickly snatched the creature while it was in mid leap between trees.

The new appendage quickly yanked the small mammal straight into Naruto's bloody mouth; his teeth chomping down on the first thing they touched and tearing away as much flesh as his small mouth could hold.

The tentacle acted like an extra hand, holding onto his dead prey as he feasted. All the while, more tentacles launched themselves in whatever direction Naruto's new ability could identify; snagging squirrels, birds, snakes, and even some large insects. All were acceptable meals.

Venom remained silent as his host fed. This was just the start of their beautiful relationship. After the youth had his fill, the monster would teach his host how to use his new abilities.

Venom was different from the others of his kind. He did not want a mindless meat puppet, nor did he want to constantly fight for control and dominance. He wanted a host that was willing to work with him to achieve both of their goals. It just so happened that this child happened to be a compatible host young enough for the monster to guide down the right path.

Or at least the most fun one.

After what felt like a straight hour of stuffing his face, Naruto finally dropped the carcass of the most recently caught bird and fell back onto his rear. He belched loudly while patting his bloated stomach.

He had never felt this full in his life and the feeling was almost as intoxicating as his first bite was.

_**'Better?' **_Venom asked, already knowing his host's response.

"A lot." Naruto groaned. He rubbed his engorged stomach with joy. If he got to feel and eat as much as he did because of Venom, then maybe being a part of him wasn't so bad in the end.

_**'Now was that so bad?' **_The monster teased. _**'Sure, you killed and ate nearly half of this forest, but it was just you following your new position in the natural cycle.'**_

The smile on Naruto's face faltered as he slowly came to the realization of what he had just done.

Venom was quick to respond before his host could get the chance to delve too far into an inevitable depression.

_**'It felt right, didn't it? It felt like something you were meant to do, didn't it?' **_He did not want to give Naruto a chance to rebuke his claims. _**'Like I said just before, there is nothing to be ashamed of since you have done nothing wrong. Even better; the more you eat, the stronger we become. The stronger we become, the better we are to protect your family and home.'**_

Naruto sat in silent thought for a moment before finally realizing that it had already gotten dark. His parents were probably wondering where he was.

Needless to say that he doing what he had done had not effected him as badly as he thought. Venom was right, since he and it were now one, it was only natural that he would have to make some changes to accommodate his new partner.

The thought the he might eventually go after larger prey did not seem to bother Naruto as he slowly got back to his feet.

_**'We can start practice with some of your new abilities later. Why don't we just head home?'**_

Naruto took a moment to look around at the results of his feast. Blood covered the grass and ground in a thick crimson layer with the discarded remains of each meal laying about in random locations. Naruto had consumed with such ferocity that blood and gore had even splattered on the nearby trees and underbrush. The moon shone brightly through the leaves, easily highlighting the mess.

Naruto could not help feeling at least a little bad that he had acted so violently and created such a disturbing mess. He moved to at least pick up all of the discarded waste.

_**'What are you doing?' **_Venom grumbled. _**'Leave it be. It can serve as a warning to those that find it.'**_

"Warning to what?" Naruto could not help but as as he dropped the handful of entrails he had gathered.

_**'A warning to all. To let the world know that Venom has returned and has found himself a new host.' **_He burst into a fit of laughter.

"But I thought we didn't want anybody knowing about you just yet since we can't use all of your power just yet?" Naruto responded, ignoring the odd laughing.

Venom's laughter came to a sudden halt and a groan of realization echoed through Naruto's mind, forcing a few chuckles to escape from his lips. Not even an ancient body-stealing monster was safe from his wise-cracks.

While walking home, Naruto noticed the blood and organs sticking to his shirt and shorts. Luckily, the boy was clever if nothing else, and decided to simply turn the clothes inside out before reaching the populated parts of the village.

He did, however, almost walk right into the middle of the busy street before wiping his mouth off. Walking around with a blood covered face would probably spark a few people's attention.

Naruto was fortunate not to run into too many people on his way home. He did, however, notice that strange tingling in the back of his head constantly go off as he walked about. He had to look around a little to notice one of the village's guards following him from the rooftops; most likely a guard his rightfully paranoid father had assigned to him, if Naruto had to take a guess.

That strange hunting sense of his started to get really annoying as he walked further and further within the village, until finally it got to the point where his entire head felt like broken TV static.

"What is going on?" Naruto groaned as he stumbled into a nearby alleyway, his hand holding onto his head in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pain.

_**'Something you are just going to have to get used to. You can not make our hunting sense stop, nor would you ever want to. Consider who you are; a target. Being able to know when a possible enemy is nearby will do nothing but help you all throughout your life.' **_Venom reasoned. _**'Stop complaining.'**_

All Naruto could do was grumble at his inner demon's harsh words and continue on his way home.

Nothing much else happened that night once Naruto arrived home. His mother did ask why his clothes were inside out, but Naruto was quick to just wave off the woman's question by claiming he didn't pay any attention while getting dressed that morning.

Before she could question the boy any further, he had ran up to the bathroom to take a nice relaxing bath. He was careful to hide his dirty clothes under the sink until he could get the chance to wash them himself.

After a nice long soak in the tub, Naruto joined his family for dinner before doing some last minute homework and heading off to bed. Everything was back to normal. And he still had school tomorrow. Despite all of what he had just eaten a short while ago, Naruto found himself easily able to eat all of his mother's cooking. No matter what, he would always have room for that.

The next few days went about as normal as one could be for little Naruto. He went to school, hung out with his friends, and did homework. Other than having Venom making comments on nearly everything, every day life was still the same as before. Naruto did get the occasional question from his classmates on what it was like being kidnapped though.

Naruto would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying the slight increase in popularity; even if it was just temporary. Venom was quick to tease the boy as often as possible about it too.

The days went by and life went as it was.

Naruto slowly got used to his new constant hunger and had decided that the forest where he held his first feast would be as good a place as any to use as his hunting grounds.

Every day, Venom taught his host how to use more and more of their power. Naruto became more and more enthusiastic to learn each new thing as the training went on. But his enthusiasm did become too much for the monster at times.

It was easy for the small kid to escape his new guards since without having chakra, and thus no way of detecting the boy, Naruto could easily slip away in a crowded street and make off to his new hunting grounds.

"Come on, please?" Naruto whined as he chucked away the useless rib cage of a songbird. It had become one of the boy's newfound joy's to slurp out as much as he could out of small birds in one go; it was kinda like drinking out of a meaty soft drink.

_**'I have told you over two dozen times now; we can not use all of my power. You are far too young and weak and if I allowed such a stupid action, I would end up eating every last bit of you in a matter of seconds. You can hardly use the power I have already given you. Wait until you are older.' **_Venom explained for the hundredth time.

His host was really beginning to get on the monster's nerves. Constantly asking for his power while also eating just the bare minimum to get by. If only the child would indulge himself every once and a while.

One of the negative effects his kind had upon bonding to a host, besides the nearly endless hunger; was the desire to satiate that hunger with the members of the host's current species. For one reason or another, eating one's on kind just tasted so much better than any alternatives as well as was just much more filling.

It wasn't like the village had a small population or anything. And humans reproduced fast enough that the world over would not suffer too badly from at least a few feasts.

Naruto huffed at the monster's words as he walked through the forest, looking for something else to fill his hungry belly. It did not take him long to find another bird sitting about on a far tree.

A small smirk appeared on the young boy's face. He thrust his right arm out and a large black tentacle launched from his hand towards the small bird. The large appendage smashed into the tree branch the bird was sitting on, snapping it clean in half with little effort.

The bird, however, reacted in just enough time to fly away and quickly out of reach for the grabby arm. Naruto held the tentacle at the spot for a moment, too embarrassed by his failure to do anything but look foolish.

_**'Thank you for proving my point.' **_


	5. Chapter 5

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Time passed in the village. As it does for everyone. And things change.

Naruto watched as he and his friends grew into young preteens. He was there for them when they finally had to take the test to determine who had what it takes to join the shinobi curriculum. He cheered for everyone that tried and shouted out words of encouragement for those that could not make the cut.

The Hokage's son desperately wanted to at least try his hand at becoming a ninja of the village. But no matter how he tried to argue for it, Venom refused to allow it and would forcibly hold his host down if he thought the boy was going to try for it.

So, Naruto was destined to join the regular schooling of the village while his friends went off to learn how to be ninja. Admittedly, the boy was a little depressed after the ceremony and seeing his friends take one step closer to their dreams while he was left behind.

Venom, despite being a selfish hunger beast, encouraged his host with words of their combined greatness whenever he was feeling down about one thing or another.

It was never fun to have a moody host.

The monster did his part in their partnership; teaching the boy how to properly use their powers and abilities. As the years went by, Venom taught Naruto more and more until everything became like second nature.

The smiling faces of Naruto's mother and father upon seeing their child support his friends gave the boy the motivation needed to stick with the plan he and Venom had come up with.

The days became week. Weeks became months. And months gave way to years.

Things went about as normal as could be. Naruto still went to school and hung out with his friends right after every day he could. He made new friends that were both ninja in training and normal students alike.

Naruto still did not have much of an idea of what he wanted to do once he was finally out of school, but he still had a good long time to think about that and did not worry too much about it.

Naruto was at the young age of sixteen now. He had grown taller, at least a little bit, and had started to grow into the young man, he was going to be in the future.

A relatively normal kind of guy. With a relatively normal kind of life.

Or, at least the appearance of one.

_**'Wake up already! You are going to be late!' **_Venom groaned loudly, snapping Naruto out of whatever sweet dreams he may have been enjoying. _**'You know what will happen the longer you wait.'**_

Naruto grumbled something unrecognizable before rolling over and tucking his head under the blanket. A desperate attempt to silence the nagging voice in his head.

Venom, not seeing a point in continuing to irritate his host just remained silent. Someone was already on their way to make Naruto get ready for school.

Before Naruto could even begin to get comfortable again, his bedroom door swung open and the lovely sound of his mother's voice reached his young ears.

"Get your ass out of bed right this minute and get ready for school!" She yelled loud enough to wake the dead. And it just so happened to be loud enough to Make Naruto physically jump out of his bed and fall face first into his carpet.

The boy simply stayed there for a solid minute before quickly jumping to his feet and bolting over to his closet. All the while, his mother glared at him from his bedroom doorway.

After grabbing his clothes, Naruto began to strip away his nightwear only to stop midway through and lock eyes with his mother.

The woman looked as beautiful as she always had. Same motherly face, bright red hear and slim figure. Except now, her normally slim and well trained stomach had a slight bulge to it. A clear sign of her third pregnancy.

If Kushina could say anything about her husband, he was nothing but determined to give his wife the family she deserved.

For a split moment, Naruto remembered the day his parents told him that he was going to be a big brother. He also happened to recall the terribly awkward talk that followed explaining just how a child was made.

Both he and his parents forgot in the heat of the moment that they already had given Naruto 'the talk' a long time before. Thus making the whole situation worse for everyone.

Both Naruto and his mother stared at each other for a moment.

"Move it!" Kushina shouted while gesturing violently. "I refuse to get another phone call from your teacher about you being late again!"

"Um," Naruto gestured to his half-dressed state. "A little privacy?" He continued to make eye contact with his mother, who was still not moving from her position. "Please?"

Kushina rolled her eyes before taking a step out of the room. "Please hurry it up." Were the last words out of her mouth before she closed the door and allowed her son to continue getting dressed. The mother had remind herself that her son was a growing boy and was entering that stage in his life where he did not think he needed his parents anymore.

She sighed heavily as she walked back downstairs and into the kitchen to finish the breakfast she was making for her beloved family. Ever since she had become pregnant once again, Kushina was forced to go on temporary leave from her duties as a shinobi of the village.

While happy beyond words with the prospect of adding a new member to the family, the fact that she was unable to do her job properly bothered her to no end.

She huffed as she finished putting breakfast on the table, but could not hide her smile as the familiar sound of her son stomping down the stairs. Knowing her son better than anyone else, Kushina made just a simple plate for her son, a fried egg on toast.

With a chuckle, the mother could help but think this looked like the begging of some cheesy romance story. Her daughter gave Kushina a glance before going back to eating her breakfast and reading a small book she had recently picked up.

The girl looked like a spitting image of her mother when she was at that age, a mere eight years in age, except for the color of her hair matching that of her father's. She had the temperament of neither whoever and was considered the oddball in the family if for no other reason than her calm and collected demeanor compared to the other family members.

"I'm going to be late!" Naruto shouted as he burst into the kitchen, his uniform jacket barely on and his shirt still untucked.

_**'I told you.' **_Venom commented offhandely. This was the norm for the monster now. A lazy and easy life with no conflict and a host that was more the happy to feed him? How could Venom ask for anything more?

"Then hurry it up!" Kushina yelled back as her son quickly shoved the offered toast into his mouth while he finally got his other arm in it's jacket sleeve.

"Hmph ou." Was his muffled reply before bolting out the front door just as his father was walking down the stairs, still in his nightwear.

Kushina sighed as she heard the front door slam shut. She mused for a moment about whatever could have happened to her beloved son to turn him into such a lazy young man.

Whenever Kushina would think about her son, the memory of his kidnapping so many years ago would always rear it's ugly head. She would have to take a moment to calm her motherly fears and force her own resolution to protect her family to the forefront.

She glanced at her husband, who had finally sat down and was giving just the biggest yawn possible. Kushina knew that he had the same resolve she did, but because of his political position, he was not in such a concerned state. He had trusted shinobi who were more than willing to watch over his family.

That is not to say that he still did not worry; he just had connections to insure their safety.

Back with Naruto, we can see him trying to shove his hasty breakfast down in his mouth while running as fast as he could down the road. His school bag barely hanging onto his finger as he stomped on the hard road.

Within record time, Naruto could see the entrance to the Village Academy. Both normal students and shinobi in training were to enter the school grounds properly, through the front entrance. Anyone that tried to be clever and enter any other way were immediately reprimanded and forced to stand at the back of the classroom while holding up two full pales of water.

Regardless if one was a soldier in training or just a normal student, nobody wanted to have to put up with that. Worse yet, the same punishment was administered for anybody that was late to school.

Naruto just barley made it through the front gate before the bell warning that classes would soon be starting went off. He continued to run until he finally made it to the civilian student entrance to the school and to his own shoe locker.

_**'We woudn't be late so often if you would just wake up on time.' **_Venom lectured his host. While he enjoyed the adrenaline that the feeling of being late brought up within his host, after a while, it just gets annoying.

"Well, if you would let me just use a little bit of power we would never have to worry about it in the first place." Naruto mumbled as he changed into his school shoes and made his way to class.

_**'And what, have people find out that you are a little bit more than you appear? Have your parents own our case again about doing something strange? Or did you forget about what happened after your mother found that shirt from our first outing?' **_Venom lectured. His host was just, so stupid sometimes.

Naruto paused for the briefest moment as he recalled when hi mother burst into the room, fear in her eyes, while holding his blood soaked shirt so many years ago.

The long conversation he had with her, trying to calm her down and assure her that he had not gotten hurt or anything like that. Having to come up with a cover story for that was probably one of the most difficult things he ever had to do in his life. After, Naruto was sure to hide his bloodied clothes a whole lot better.

Naruto, not wanting to admit to the truth behind Venom's words, just remained silent as he took his seat just as the bell signaling for classes to start rang.

The morning went about the same as it always did, Naruto hardly paying even the slightest bit of attention to whatever the teachers said and just barely passing the surprise test the class had right before lunch.

The very second that the bell rang, Naruto bolted out of his seat and made for the outdoor training area that the shinobi class often used. During the lunch period, all students were allowed access to any non-staff areas of the academy; this included both the shinobi and the civilian sides of the school.

He could already see one of his friends waiting for him underneath a nearby tree.

Kiba had grown to look basically the same he had as a kid, but with a more wild and feral appearance that tended to make the civilian girls see him as a bit scary. Something that really bothered Kiba and something that everyone else was more than happy to tease the boy about.

He also always had with him, his canine companion, Akamaru; a dog that was training alongside Kiba. While pets were normally not allowed at the academy, due to his clan's unique way of fighting as well as being the number one provider of the village's trained dogs, Kiba was except from that rule.

Even though his dog was as large as a small horse.

"Hey dog boy!" Naruto shouted right as he came to a skidding halt under the tree. "What's going on?"

Kiba was looking off into the distance at a group of the kunoichi-to-be. It was a small group of about five girls, all looked to be enjoying their lunch while chatting and laughing about some random nonsense.

A strangely sad image, both Naruto and Venom thought, knowing that these young girls would one day witness the terror of battle and the many hardships that lay before any who became shinobi.

"Look at them." Kiba said in a strangely satisfied manner; making Naruto raise a concerned eyebrow at his friend. "So full of youth and beauty." The canine using kid had a strangely serine smile on his face as he leaned back against the tree. "Only someone that has fought alongside such beauty would be able to witness the elegance and grace that a female shinobi possesses."

He finally tore his eyes away from the girls to look at Naruto. "I doubt it is something you will ever be able to truly appreciate."

Naruto just blankly stared back at his friend. "What?"

"You are just so simple." Kiba sighed, his voice had taken a superior tone. "You will never be a ninja and will never get the chance to fight side-by-side with these beauties. You will never feel what it is like to feel victorious after a hard fought battle with a beautiful warrior by your side." His face instantly became perverse. "And after the battle, as the sun sets, you share a passion filled night as the fear of this being your last day dies away."

"I should have known you would have ended up talking like that." Naruto said with a sigh as he sat down under the same tree. "I don't think I've seen you talk to even a single girl since we joined this school."

Kiba's expression shifted to one of annoyance. "Of course I have." He spread his arms out. "I mean, look at me. I'm the strongest student in the school. What girl _wouldn't _want to date me? Let alone talk to me?"

Not even his dog could give the boy a straight face as Naruto had to hold back his own fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Kiba glared at his sitting friend.

"A good number of things. Want me to start listing them down?" Naruto retorted quickly, still giggling at his friends angry face.

"I'd sock ya' if I wasn't afraid I'd kill you with one punch." Kiba huffed while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh please." Naruto rolled his eyes as Akamaru gave a loud yawn. "You could be classed as a jonin and still be too big of a wimp to even bruise me."

"Hah." Kiba responded sharply. "I'm going to take your dad's place as Hokage some day; so taking down a civilian wimp like you would be nothing but a waste of my time."

"Scared to try?" It was clear Naruto enjoyed teasing his friends to no end. "Afraid that a little towns-boy might whup your ass?"

"I don't need to kick you up and down the street to prove how strong I am." Kiba snapped back.

_**'This entire conversation is pointless.'**_

"Like you even could hope to try." Naruto glanced over at the group of girls; none of which had noticed the loud boys. "Fine." Naruto pointed a finger in their direction. "If you are such a big strong man, then why don't you go over and talk to those girls? If what you said is true, then they should be all over you in an instant."

Kiba paused for a second as his brain tried to register what his buddy had just said. He honestly just expected Naruto to continue to try and egg him on or eventually give up, not actually give him a challenge of some kind.

Kiba risked a glance over tot he group of aforementioned girls and noticed that they had stopped talking amongst each other and were now looking at both he and Naruto.

One mumbled something to the other and Kiba could feel his face heating up real quick as every one of the girls' eyes focused on him. He tried to put on a brave face and wave over to them.

But the most that the boy could muster up was a scared smile and raising a shaking hand up in a terrible wave.

One of the girls said something and the group erupted into laughter, making Kiba's already bright red face get even more red until it was an almost complete purple. His face was nearly the same color as the tattoos he had on his cheeks. He instantly found the ground to be a whole lot more interesting and had to fight against the desire to bury himself as deep as he could underneath the tree.

Naruto did not bother to hide the knowing smirk on his face. He loved to get one over on his friends, and when it ended with his friends embarrassed or annoyed, then it was even better. It was taking all he could not to burst out into a fit of laughter.

He could hear the echoes of Venom's own vile chuckle from deep within his skull.

Without saying a word, and happening upon the two without making a sound, Sasuke had finally raven-haired boy looked down at the nearly doubled-over with laughter Naruto before risking a glance over at Kiba and finally to the group of giggling girls.

Without saying a word, Sasuke turned right back around and tried to escape whatever situation he was about to walk into.

"Where do you think you're going?" Naruto asked while suddenly latching an arm around the neck on to the retreating boy. "Kiba wanted to prove to me just how tough he was." He jabbed a finger an the still red faced, but now glaring Inuzuka. "Wanna' see if you're any tougher?"

Even without looking at his friend, Sasuke could feel the boy's massive grin.

"No." The Uchiha stated bluntly before wriggling free from Naruto's grip and sitting down under the tree, pulling out a box lunch and beginning to enjoy his lunch.

Without saying much else, the two other boys did the same. They talked among themselves about random goings on in the village and their lives. The boring classes Naruto had to go through and the epic training that the other two boys got to experience.

Was just another day for the three.

* * *

"What was that about?" One of the girls giggled to her friends.

Ino, a long blonde-haired kunoichi-to-be, sat with her closest friends. Her closest being the pink-headed Sakura sitting next to her. The two girls had been the closest of friends as far back as either could remember, though one would be hard pressed to tell from their looks.

Just by looking at the two, one would not be to amiss for thinking that the pinkette was some shy wallflower while the blond was always the life of the party. And you would not be completely wrong on that assumption either.

Sakura had always been self-conscious of her appearance and dressed in a modest combat dress. While the split up the side did shew off a bit of leg, it was nothing to the purple mini skirt and small top the Ino wore. Much more of the latter girl's legs as well as her flat stomach was exposed for all to see.

Both girls were beautiful in their own way and chose to express their own physical beauty in manners that showed off not just their own physical aspects, but their own psychology as well.

Ino could not hold her own giggles in as she saw the Inuzuka's face get brighter and brighter. It was clear from the boy's face that his blond haired friend had been egging him on, and Ino could think of a good few reasons why.

Both Ino and Sakura knew about both Sasuke and Kiba since all four were in the same class, and that was about it. They never talked beyond that of a polite greeting, so to say she could judge either based on what she was witnessing would be a strong falsehood on her part.

The two seemed kind enough since they appeared to still be friends with some civilian student.

It was a sad truth, but usually what would happen when friends became separated by classes; one going to the shinobi classes and the other civilian, they would drift apart quickly. Most of the time the shinobi-in-training would become very arrogant towards their civilian friends and end up ruining the friendship completely.

So it was very rare to see friends make it through that stage and even rarer for them to stay as such after a few years in separate parts of the academy.

That peaked the blonde girl's interested in the trio of boys now eating their respective lunches.

The Yamanaka family was famous for their understanding of the human mind. Their entire fighting style consisted around manipulating their opponents mind until they could be completely controlled.

Most that became shinobi went into either the Interrogation Department or were deployed as long-term informants. People learned quickly that you can never hide a secret from a Yamanaka.

If one was somehow strong enough to resist the abilities of the shinobi side of the family, then they would be brought to the few civilian family members. While the soldiers would implement mental attacks mixed in with their own physical, the civilians were all pure masters of mental manipulation.

Not a single soul that had ever had to deal with their own form of interrogation ever left as the same person they had once been. Worse, not a single soul that ever had to deal with them in such a way had ever revealed exactly how the Yamanaka went about their work.

With her family's specialty being the understanding of the human mind, and the years of training from both of her parents on the subject; the fact that those three boys were still buds peaked Ino's interest.

It clearly was not the Inuzuka if what she had just witnessed was anything to go by. The boy appeared to have too big of an ego as well as a quick temper to really allow anyone to stay around him longer than was necessary.

Considering the Uchiha had arrived later than the other two and had hardly said a word upon arriving, it was not very likely to be him as well. The fact that he seemed to not talk much in class only reinforced Ino's believe that he was not the glue holding these three friends together.

That just left the blond-haired civilian.

The boy appeared to be as normal as anybody else, at first glance. He smiled a lot and appeared to always be in a cheery mood; the kind of person that wanted everyone around him to smile as much as he did. A good person.

Ino observed the teenager as she ate her food. Her eyes studying every single movement his body made, and even the minor shifting and movements of his bright blue eyes. Every little twitch of his arms was noted by her keen mind. Ino was half-hoping that her friend Sakura was doing the same.

The pink-haired girl's mind was outclassed by no one within the village walls, and she was only a teenager. One could only imagine just how much smarter the girl would become in the future. So hopefully she was watching the group of boys as well and could see something Ino might miss.

So engrossed with her observation, Ino failed to notice that all of her friends had stopped talking and were now all doing the same as her; watching the blond boy and his friends.

There was something...strange about the kid. Everything he did, down to the very way his ate his lunch; felt a bit off to the young Yamanaka. It was like as if the boy was not completely sure how to properly act, or how to do things in a manner that is expected or accepted. At best, he looked like someone that had been taught how to be a normal person, but questioned himself constantly if every little thing he did was correct, or if he was sticking out like some sort of freak.

It was clear to the boy that his odd behavior was so to most normal people and thus, clearly tried his best to hide it. Unfortunately, being almost constantly surrounded by ninja trained to notice even the smallest hints of odd behavior really doesn't make it easy to his things.

"You know who that is, right?" Sakura finally whispered in her friend's ear.

Ino only slightly moved her head closer to the other girl show a desire to know; keeping her pale blue eyes glued on the way the blond boy laughed as his canine-using friend made a mess with his lunch and his large dog.

"That's Uzumaki Naruto, the first son of the Third Hokage." Sakura whispered a little louder so that the entire group could hear. This started a mass of whispering between all the girls.

None Ino paid any attention to, even though her natural urge to gossip was begging for her to do so.

The Hokage's son. The supposed black sheep of the family, if the whispers through the village were anything to go by. Not because of his behavior or anything really ill like that, but simply because he was the only one in his entire family that was completely unable to utilize chakra at all.

Even the weakest civilian was able to at least mold it to some degree. But, this boy had become famous if not for who his parents were, but the fact that he had no chakra; this also meant that if one lost sight of him, then finding him again would be a greater challenge than it would be for anyone else.

Unfortunately, what would make Naruto an unparalleled shinobi, was what also prevented him from being able to become one. A cursed blessing if there ever was one.

"I've heard that there have been attempts on his life ever since he was really small." One of the girls whispered just loud enough for Ino to hear properly.

Maybe that was it.

Years of being attacked by assassins, kidnappings and other hostile threats might have forced Naruto to constantly be on edge. The constant worry that he could be attacked at any minute was probably constantly wrecking his nerves; making the poor boy a permanently nervous mess. That would explain why he appeared to put just that little bit of extra effort into every little motion he made.

"That must be terrifying." Another of the girls pipped up. "I mean, I know we will have to live our lives like that; but he's just a normal guy. To have to keep on your toes always, just because of what you are." Her voice faded, leaving everyone to think about how such a life must be.

Ino found herself feeling pity towards the blond-haired boy. A feeling not unlike that of wanting to protect someone that can not protect themselves. The bright smile that graced Naruto's face looked to fit more on a person without a care in the world, as opposed to the son of an important military and political figure.

It took Ino a moment to notice that the boy's grin was aimed directly at her. It appeared that her long period of hard staring drew the boy's attention and, him being an apparently kind person, was giving Ino a toothy grin and a small wave.

Ino could feel the eyes of the other girls bore into her, anxiously waiting for what the blonde beauty was going to do. Her eyes flicked over to her dear friend, only to see Sakura staring directly at her with the same intense gaze as the other girls.

Uzumaki Naruto was not unattractive in the slightest, yet no girl had ever been bold enough to approach him. Hell, as far as he knew, not a single girl was even remotely interested in him.

What made the boy unapproachable, at least romantically, was a combination of his status as the Hokage's first born son as well as being the only one of that family without any chakra at all.

Fear of being a possible kidnapping or assassination target prevented most girls from getting too close to Naruto, while the parents of the rest were also concerned about the possibility of any grandchildren having the same disability and would warn against forming any kind of relationship with the boy.

Either way, not a single girl had approached the lad since joining the higher grade classes.

Ino took a short breath before returning the boy's smile and giving a small wave of her own, with her eating utensils still being held in that hand; a sign of easy acceptance while also showing that her intentions were nothing more than friendly.

Naruto's face faltered for a moment. He was not expecting the girl to give him a response, most would just look away or pretend he was not there in the first place.

His massive grin instantly reattached itself to his face and.

"That's Ino of the Yamanaka family." Kiba whispered in his ear. "She's one of the most popular girls in school. A real hoty, but I heard she ain't looking to hook up with anyone just yet. Trying to keep that 'clan princess' look going as much as she can, I guess."

"Hmph." Sasuke huffed loud enough for both boys to hear. "She's nothing compared to the girl I got." His chest swelling with pride. Sasuke tried to keep the calm and stoic expression the older Uchiha were famous for, but the prideful smirk betrayed his true intentions.

The boy just loved to show off his girlfriend whenever possible ever since she confessed to him. The problem though, was that she was never around for Sasuke to properly introduce to his friends. Something that both other boys were mre than happy to tease him about at any given opportunity.

"Ah yes." Kiba was quick to reply. "The ever so perfect woman of Sasuke Uchiha's. The girl that shines brighter than the moon and is stronger than all of the Lords combined." His tone was exceedingly mocking and, coupled with some exaggerated movements not unlike that coming from a grade school play, it was more than enough to rile Sasuke up and get Naruto rolling on the floor with laughter.

"Her presence in like that of a true goddess." Kiba continued his act. "How could any of us lowly peasants ever hope to be witness to such a legendary beauty?" He ended the faux-play with a deadpanned star right at Sasuke's irritated face.

"Don't give us that look." Naruto droned. "Until we see her face-to-face, we are going to continue to assume that your 'girlfriend' is just the name you've given to your favorite hand."

Sasuke' expression turned into a red-face glare; the embarrassment at the blond boy's words was poorly hidden by his blue shirt as he huffed loudly an went back to eating.

"How about we focus on what is real." Kiba hummed as he hooked an arm around Sasuke's neck, forcing the boy to reenter the conversation. "Like the fact the our little boy Naruto here just got the attention of Miss Ino over there?"

"Shut up." Now it was Naruto's turn to be embarrassed. "She was just being nice." He quickly defended not just his own embarrassment, but the girl's as well.

It was one thing for him to feel a little embarrassed and teased; but if being around his mother and little sister taught Naruto anything, it was that the social structure of the female side of the human species was the most brutal and terrifying thing every created.

The complete and total destruction of a girl's social life, mentality, and emotional control could easily all come to fruition just by having one of your idiot friends open his big mouth and spout out some dumb accusation.

"I don't know man." Kiba shrugged. "I've only seen Ino talk to the girls. Every single guy that's bothered to try and confess to her have ended up going home in tears." He quickly puffed out his chest. "Not like she'd be able to say no to me." He quickly stated matter-of-factually. "That is, if I even bothered to ask her."

Both Naruto and Sasuke rolled their eyes.

Not too long later, the bell rang for classes to continue and the friends parted for the afternoon.

_**'Finally.'** _Venom moaned. _**'You all talk way too much.'**_

The afternoon went about as normal and eventually it was time for the students to leave and head home; or anywhere else that was not academy property. It was common for the students to hang out with friends and go do something together to help forge memories that they could one day look back on with a smile.

Naruto hung out with his friends like everyone else, until it started to get dark. The three friends said their farewells before going off towards the direction of their own respective homes.

Naruto only walked a small bit before sighing heavily and putting a hand on his stomach. He waited for the sounds of his friends walking away to vanish before finally stating...

"I'm feeling hungry."

_**'It is about time we had a little snack.' **_Venom chuckled as his host slinked away into a nearby alley. A few random corner turns later and Naruto could no longer feel the presence of the usual guards assigned to him for the day.

Naruto could practically feel the annoyance and irritation radiating off of the guards as they began a sweep to locate the boy, again. This had been going on for years and no matter who was employed to watch over the boy, Naruto would always find a way to sneak away. This had just become nothing more than an annoying routine since Naruto would always end up getting home later.

It did not stop his parents from worrying that he was hanging out with the wrong kind of crowd or was doing drugs or something along those lines. If only that were the case. Neither of Naruto's parents would ever have thought about what truly had happened to beloved baby boy so many years ago.

Night had finally fallen on the massive village, expanding the world's shadows and forcing the light of man to pierce the darkness and illuminate that which the world tried so desperately to hide.

Naruto walked through the streets while a frustrated expression etched onto his handsome face. Over the years, it had become more and more difficult for him to find a good amount of food. He had to slowly expand his feeding ground as well as expand his menu.

At first, the small birds and mammals that populated the wooded areas of the village were good enough. But, as he grew, so did his appetite; forcing Naruto to start going after larger and larger animals to sate the constant pain in his gut.

He eventually started to hunt down and consume whatever stray animal he could find within the village. He was able to restrain himself from going after owned pets however. But just barely.

Unfortunately, the number of strays was starting to dwindle and the number needed to keep his stomach calm was becoming too great for him to easily hunt down in just a few hours.

As much as he wanted to eat everything that dared to cross his path, Naruto simply could not bring himself to harm someone's cherished pet. Venom would always chastise his host for not taking an easy meal when the option arrived, but Naruto would refuse no mater what.

So, the pair had to come up with another source of food that was enough to sate their endless gluttony. Luckily, they had already found such relief a few days prior after overhearing a small conversation his parents were having.

Something about specially bred deer grown for their horns and meat. They were kept on a massive plot of land within the walls of the village and were guarded by the notoriously lazy Nara clan. A perfect combo if there ever was one for the predatory Naruto.

Making sure no one was really paying him any attention, Naruto made his way to were the Nara clan's main house was located. It was only on that specific plot of land that the best quality deer were bred and raised. And, while Naruto was willing to shove a flea-infested mutt straight into his stomach, that did not mean he would settle for anything less than the very best when given the chance.

It was easy to find where the Nara compound was since it was the only one too far away from everything else in the village to be seen. The road was nothing but dirt and gravel and the compound looked more like a large country home than the estate to a wealthy family.

There were a few guards posted around the entrance, but Naruto was sure to stay just outside of their range of site to sneak right around the main building. He snaked he way through the dense trees, past a few farm structures, until he reached the massive field that housed the free-range deer.

The field expanded almost too far for Naruto to see the other side and had only the most basic of wooden fencing present to keep the animals contained. There was not a single guard within sight.

Seeing no real opposition, Naruto easily hopped the fence and continued towards his goal; a small group of the famous Nara bred deer sleeping in the middle of the open field.

_**'I don't like this.' **_Venom's voice held a great deal of suspicion. _**'If these deer are so highly prized, why is there not a soul watching over them?'  
**_

Naruto shrugged as he slowly walked closer and closer to the sleeping dear. "The Nara are super lazy." He explained. "They probably don't think anyone would bother wasting their time trying to steal a deer inside the most powerful village in the world."

Venom;s only response was a mild grumble before forcing Naruto to stop his slow stalking by sprouting out a few black tendrils and wrapping themselves around the boy's legs.

Naruto flailed his arms about for a bit trying to keep his balance before finally saying in a loud whisper. "What are you doing?! We're hungry!"

_**'I am aware.' **_Naruto could almost feel the monster roll it's eyes; if it had eyes that were capable of performing such an action. _**'But we are trespassing on a powerful clan's property. A disguise would at least prevent us from getting into too much trouble.'**_

Before Naruto could respond a nest of small tendrils erupted out from his neck and quickly began to stretch and crawl their way up to and over his entire head. Quickly, the mass of writhing tentacles enveloped the boy's entire head. The tiny appendages melted and fused together into a a completely feature-less, black mask that hid any sign of what the person within it may look like.

Despite the organic mask having no holes for Naruto to see out of or breath through, he had no issue doing either. It was almost as if the mask was just his normal face; almost like how the tentacles he could control just felt like a normal body part to him.

_**'There,' **_Venom appreciated his handy work. _**'Just in case some fool decides to come along and see us feeding.'**_

"Whatever." Naruto mumbled as he slowly crept closer and closer to the herd. As he moved, the young hunter eyed each individual deer until his bright blue orbs focused on a particularly large buck.

The mall was the only member of the herd still awake and standing around; clearly to keep an eye out for predators while his herd slept. Despite being born and raised within the haven of the Nara compound, some instincts simply could not be pushed down.

The antlers of the beast were massive and were a clear sign of the animal's strength and age. Couple that with the large muscles visible underneath it's thin coat and one could easily assume that this deer was a top-of-the-line breeder and was likely to even be the father of most of the deer at the Nara compound.

Naruto's movements slowed more and more the closer he got to his prey. He could feel the saliva pool in hos mouth and eventually drip from in between his starved lips. He could not help but lick his lips in pure anticipation of the grand meal standing so close.

The buck was clearly on high alert, moving his head every which way with even the slightest hint of a sound reached his sensitive ears. Every step that Naruto took forced the deer to jerk his head in the boy's direction.

The animal could clearly see the human approaching it. Sadly, it having been surrounded by humans all it's life had completely removed the natural fear that it should have felt. Still, it was wary of the boy's presence and was prepared to defend his herd of the strange two-legged animal decided to act in a hostile manner.

Naruto stopped his approach just a few feet away from the large buck; the animal having turned completely to face the hungry youth. The large deer gave a series of quick bows and grunts; a clear warning to Naruto that approaching any closer would not be a wise decision.

The two stared at each other for a moment. An understanding of what each was.

A predator acknowledging his prey and the resolve it had to stand its ground to protect not only itself, but its entire family. And prey, knowing that it must make the sacrifice of its own life to save the many others under its care.

Both knew that only one of them was going to survive the night and the other would be dead long before the first rays of the morning sun could touch the green fields they stood upon.

An indeterminate amount of time passed before one of them moved.

What one would expect to be an amazing display of power on both parties, ended with only a few simple motions.

Naruto quickly dashed towards the animal as his left arm shifted into the familiar tentacle he had come so used to controlling. He launched the stretchy appendage out towards the buck.

Said beast charged forward as well, head held down and ready to gore whatever may be foolish enough to stand before it. Sadly, what it met instead was a bizarre net formed from the end of the strange black tentacle Naruto was now sporting.

The beast quickly fell over and began to thrash about as Naruto continued running towards it. Several strands of the strange flesh-net moved their way around the creatures neck and quickly drew taught enough to draw blood. The buck tried to let out a warning cry so that the rest of the herd may flee, but the tendrils wrapped around its strong neck instantly shut out all airflow.

Naruto got closer and closer to his prey. The feeling of his endless hunger driving away anything else but the desire to sink his teeth into the soft flesh of his target. He could practically taste the warm blood on his tongue as he approached his meal.

Naruto finally reached his prey and gave a short leap onto the creature. He opened his drooling maw right as he began to pull violently with his monstrous limb. The sound of ripping flesh could be heard across the field as Naruto sank his teeth into the back of the buck's neck while pulling at the head with enough force to severe most everything but the spine. Luckily, a small slit appeared in the mask Naruto wore to allow for him to feed to his hearts content.

Flesh ripped away from itself as the muscle and tendons underneath were torn apart. The creature's own trachea was snapped in two from the sheer force that the mass of tendrils used to tear into their owner's next meal. The only thing keeping the head still attached was the spinal column, which too had snapped upon being violently torn away from bones encompassing it.

Blood spilled onto the dark grass from the massive wound. Naruto tore as much flesh as possible with his mouth as he used his remaining hand to hold down the fresh carcass.

He quickly switched hands; using his human appendage to tear out as much flesh as possible to shove into his starving mouth while the tentacle held the body down.

As with all of his meals, Naruto gorged himself on more than was humanly possible. Tearing away as much consumable meat as possible and tossing away the useless organs.

Over the years, Naruto had come to create a system with his meals; gorging himself on the delectable flesh before swallowing the most delicious organs. His favorites had to be the liver and brain, with the eyes, lungs and pancreas being close behind.

The kidneys were always the first thing to be eaten once an access way was chewed out. Naruto hated the taste of them, but they were still good for him. So he would swallow them whole as fast he could just to get them out of the way and enjoy the rest of his meal.

Naruto ate and ate. Tearing away all he could and leaving nothing but bone.

So enraptured with his meal that he failed to notice himself being slowly surrounded. Even when he would lean back to allow a particularly large chunk of chest meat to slide down his throat, he failed to notice the human-shaped figures standing all around him.

It was only when that strange tingling sensation in his skull became unbearably painful did Naruto finally leap backwards; out of the way of a few haphazardly tossed kunai knifes.

Naruto quickly looked around and noted that he was surrounded by about half a dozen shinobi of the Nara family.

_**'I knew this was too easy. But you didn't want to listen.' **_Venom was quick to jab at his host. _**'Don't even think about asking me for help with this one. You got us into this, you are going to be the one to get us out.'**_

Naruto rolled his eyes behind his featureless mask as he slowly moved his tentacled arm back and forth. He could tell that the shinobi surrounding him were at the very least professionals with their tactical vests; but at the same time, their stances and minor movements showed great signs of hesitation. The minor movements of the life around him were just something Naruto noticed since becoming a proper hunter.

It was clear that despite their experience, these shinobi never had to deal with someone breaking into their field to devour their livestock. Sure, the occasional wolf or minor thief had shown up every now and then, but not a human outright eating a fresh and uncooked carcass.

Naruto knew he had to get away as fast as he could. It was bad enough that he was finally caught feeding, but while also still wearing his school uniform meant that it would not take anyone long to determine that he was still a student at the academy. But he should be fine as long as they did not see his face, or hair, or hear his voice.

"What are you?" One of the ninja finally spoke up. He along with his cohorts were all prepped and ready to fight this strange human-beast. The fact that it had a human body, but a faceless head and a tentacle for an arm was off-putting enough. They were not really sure what they would do if the creature somehow spoke to them.

Naruto's head jerked towards the man who spoke. The mask Naruto wore produced several dozen tiny tendrils that quickly stitched back together the mouth of the mask, preventing any possibility of anyone seeing any part of Naruto's face, despite the darkness that shrouded them all.

Naruto did not respond to the man's question and instead turned his gaze back to his partially finished meal. He desperately wanted to get right back to eating, and the pain he felt in his gut told him he was far from finished consuming enough to properly sustain himself.

"I asked you a question." The man responded, his words had become harsh and demanding.

Naruto ignored the man and instead switched focus to the sound of one of the shinobi taking a slow sliding step closer to him from behind. His had snapped back to the ninja's direction and his blank face stared hard into her stern visage.

His tentacle lazily waved through the air as Naruto ever so slowly got down into a low crouch; his one hand keeping him balanced as he got lower and lower to the ground.

"If you do not respond." The same shinobi that had spoken first said. "Then we will be forced to detain you in any way possible."

Naruto had to think fast. He initially thought about just jumping over the lot and bolting away as fast as possible. Unfortunately that idea was quickly pushed down since he was surrounded by highly trained shinobi that could easily keep up with him without breaking a sweat.

There had to be something amongst the many gifts his monster had given him that he could use to get out of this situation; hopefully none-violently.

Naruto glanced back over to his unfinished meal and began to think of at least a half-assed plan that should hopefully just barely work if he relied completely on shear luck.

The lad took one more look at the shinobi surrounding him before suddenly launching his tentacle-arm at the half-eaten deer carcass and quickly grabbing onto the still warm remains.

Half of the ninja reacted instantly to the sudden motion and quickly rushed the still low to the ground creature.

Naruto raised both of his feet just barely off the ground while pivoting with his one hand as fast as he could. The momentum dragged the course for a moment before launching it through the air. Using the arm that was gripping onto the body, Naruto slung the corpse around with enough force to knock away the attacking ninja.

With them knocked back, the remained went in with their own rush forward. They were prepared for the flying carcass however and easily ducked under the attack before all coming in with their own kunai drawn. Each was prepared to shove their blades as deep into the creature's exposed back as they possibly could.

The only thing stopping them from doing so, was the carcass still being swung around like some kind of blood spraying tether ball. Every time one of them would try to get close, the creature would just swing the body back and forth to try and knock them away.

"Why are we wasting our time with this?" One of the ninja grumbled while going through a series of hand motions. "Shadow Possession." The man mumbled under his breath has he focused on the creature in front of him.

Thanks to the bright moon, there was enough of a shadow to just barely have it speed across the ground and towards the tentacled freak. It easily weaved through the shadows of the man's cohorts to add to itself before nearly reaching its target.

That nearly painful tingling sensation tore through Naruto's skull and forced the boy to react, if for no other reason than to lesson the annoying feeling his brain made. He leapt backwards away from the creeping shadow before hurling the deer carcass at the one performing the technique.

Said ninja was forced to move out of the way or risk being bowled over by nearly a hundred pounds of deer meat and bone. This forced the man to cancel his technique.

The second Naruto let the carcass go, he was running right after it, using the opening it had allowed to get past the surrounding shinobi. Right as the corpse hit the ground, Naruto wrapped his tentacle around what little remained of it's neck and wretched the head clean off; all the while bolting in a straight line for the nearest bit of forest he could reach.

Almost instantly, the ninja were upon him on all sides. Each taking turns to attempt a direct strike against this bizarre thing. Every time they would, however, the thing would either slow down or jump over their attacks.

Sadly, the Nara were not known for their projectile based techniques and could only really depend on their own physical prowess to try and subdue this faceless entity.

Using all the strength he had, Naruto pushed himself harder than ever. His legs giving as much as they could as he somehow was able to start gaining speed on his enemies and even go faster than they.

He gave a short hop onto the fence surrounding the massive field before putting everything he had into his legs and pushing off with as much force as he could. This caused the fence to violently explode into a mass of splinters as Naruto launched himself as far as possible.

He instantly vanished into the woods and kept going as he could hear at least a few of the ninja still hot on his heels. Still holding onto the deer head, Naruto switched hands to free his tentacle and started swing the appendage around wildly. The limb smashed into the branches and trunks of nearly every tree he passed, showering the area in splinters and broken wood.

He was also sure to put as much force as possible in each of his leaps so as to break off whatever branch he landed on, just to make it that much harder for his pursuers.

Naruto pushed himself as hard as he possibly could. The fear of being captured and discovered driving him to give it his all. If that were to happen, then everyone would find out about the demon living inside of him. They would take them away from each other, leaving Naruto as nothing more than a regular weak human.

If that happened, then who would be able to keep his family safe? Both his mother and father were starting to get on in years and were not as spry as they used to be. He had to keep the monster contained within him just so that he could be strong enough to keep everyone safe since his parents were getting to the point where they might no longer be able to.

Eventually, Naruto could hear the ninja becoming further and further away. He slowed down to a slow stop all the while keeping as much attention as possible focused on his sense of hearing.

All Naruto could hear was the sounds of the forest at night. No sounds of rushing footsteps or heavy breathing. Not even the smallest sound of fabric moving in the wind.

The mask around his head slowly began to split back apart into the countless tendrils that had stitched it together as Naruto leaned his back against a nearby tree. A small sheen of sweat graced his brow, along with the drying deer blood around his mouth, he was a sight to see.

"That was way too close." Naruto mumbled as he slid down to the soft grass. He glanced over at what he was able to salvage of his meal. "At least I got this."

**_'Hardly worth the risk of it all.' _**Venom interjected suddenly. _**'You risked everything just for so little. I keep telling you that we need to consume others. We are going to have to eventually; whether you like it or not!'**_

Naruto just gave a huff, ignoring his inner monster. The rush of fear and excitement slowly dying away as he pulled the deer head into his lap; shifting his tentacled arm back to normal. Placing both hands at the base of each of the buck's large antlers, Naruto let out a slight puff of air.

He adjusted his grip just a little bit before suddenly pulling with both hands. Using a lot more force than was necessary, the skull of broken in two while still allowing the brain to remain completely intact.

Naruto tossed aside the half that was empty before tilting the other half slightly and allowing the deer's brain to come spilling out into his waiting hand. He eyed the organ with hunger. Saliva beginning to drip from his lips.

This was his favorite part of every meal. The brain was always the best. The taste was beyond that of anything else he had ever tasted before in his life and was a constant delight upon his tongue no matter what kind of brain it was.

Nothing could ever compare to the feeling of biting into his first brain. Naruto could remember every detail as vividly as if it had just happened moments ago. Sure, he technically did eat the brain of the small mice and birds he ate so many years ago. But there was just nothing better than sinking his teeth into that soft tissue and tearing out a delectable chunk.

Licking his lips, Naruto opened his mouth wide and shoved the gray matter into his awaiting mouth. His teeth sank into the soft tissue as he bit down and tore a healthy piece of the matter right out of the entire mass. He savored the taste as he chewed on the gray matter, letting the delicious juices flow down his throat and sat the endless hunger constantly plaguing him.

In a matter of just a few seconds, Naruto had wolfed down the entirety of the organ in his hands. He quickly licked his hands clean of any residual juices before licking his mouth clean.

"At least it wasn't a total waste." Naruto sighed with a smile while leaning back against the tree. He always felt the most full after consuming the brain. The only thing that could compare to the feeling of complete satisfaction was when gorging himself on a big enough meal.

Naruto stared up at the bright moon before minute before getting back to his feet and walking in a random direction. He would eventually find his way out of the woods and back into the main village.

Quickly moving from alley to alley, making sure not to be seen, the boy finally made his way home. Carefully opening the door and rushing up to his room, Naruto was just barely able to close his bedroom door behind him before someone started knocking on the door.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" His mother's voice called from the other side of the door. She sounded concerned with her son's rush from the front entrance to his room. She did have an idea of what may be going on however. He was a boy at that age after all.

"Y-yeah." Naruto responded quickly. "I'm just really tired and want to get to bed." He tried to sound convincing from his side of the door and prayed to every deity that his mother would believe him.

"Aren't you hungry?" She asked while placing a hand on the door. This was a part of the growing up experience; having your mother walk in while you are doing something embarrassing. It was looking like it was Naruto's turn to have that same experience.

"Naw." Naruto responded almost instantly. "I already ate with the guys." He made a loud yawn that could not have sounded more poorly acted than if he was actually trying to perform in front of a crowd.

"Well, alright." Kushina moved away from the door and was about to walk back downstairs. "Don't forget to put your sheets in the wash." She said quickly before finally going away.

Naruto glanced at the door with a confused expression before shrugging off the strange words and stripping away the blood caked clothes he was still wearing. Luckily for him he had a spare set of school clothes in case something like this were to happen.

With a full belly, Naruto fell right onto his bed and promptly fell right to sleep.

An audible thump could be heard on the floor below, signalling that Naruto had fallen into bed. Something that the entire family was used to.

"I wonder what he does that could make him so tired." Naruto's little sister mused as she read her book on the couch. The true meaning behind her words was so thinly veiled that it was a wonder why she did not outright say what she meant to.

"I'm sure your brother is just doing what all boys his age do, Natsume." Kushina replied while putting away the left over food she had initially set out for her late son. "I do wish he would at least call before I'd set his place though."

"Probably out causing havoc and mayhem." Minato chuckled from his place at the kitchen table. A mess of documents and other paperwork were strewn across the table. Ever since his son was born, Minato started taking his work home with him as often as possible so that he could at least be home and spend some time with his family.

"Has he asked for more of his allowance?" Natsume asked her mother, finally taking her eyes off of her book; one eyebrow raised.

"No." Kushina was quick to respond. "And even if he did, what your brother does with his money is up to him. We should only intervene should we suspect something illicit is going on."

Minato gave a grunt of agreement as he shifted through several papers. There was always so much paperwork.

Natsume did not push the subject any further and went back to her book. As she read, however, her mind could only focus on her mysterious brother. Her parents were not convinced, but she just had a feeling that her older brother was up to something. She just was not sure what and since she began her ninja training, Natsume had learned to go with gut feelings; just don't publicly announce them.

Every time Naruto would return home late, he would claim he was just hanging out with his friends. But, at the same time, he would rush right to his room and go straight to bed. Or so he claimed. Why would he rush right to his room if he didn't have anything to hide?

Natsume was not sure if her parents had already snuck into his room to see if there was anything worth hiding; since she had doubts either would tell her one way or another. She would have to go in herself and discover exactly what it was her brother was hiding.

In all honesty, she knew he was hiding dirty magazines and him rushing to his room was most likely him rushing to rub one out after getting some new material from his friends. She just wanted to find out where his stash was so that she could use it for blackmail later.

She was going to find out exactly what her brother was hiding and there was nothing that he or their parents could do to stop her.

"Oh, that's right." Minato finally looked away from his paperwork. "We got a request for a possible marriage between our family and neighboring country." He pulled out a small scroll from one of his many coat pockets.

Kushina gave her husband a disapproving glare. "You know how I feel about those kind of things." She said while slowly sitting down on the living room couch. She was frustrated that her swelling stomach was starting to make common, every day activities hard; once again.

"I know, I know." Minato said while quickly bringing his hands up defensively. "I don't really want to go along with it too, but it would at least help the relationship between us and them."

"I'm still not saying yes to this." Kushina pushed as she turned on the TV. The screen lit up to the evening news. "Those kind of relationships never work out; and our kids deserve to find someone of their own without their parents or politicians trying to influence them."

"Says the mother trying to get her friend to bring over her daughter to hook up their two kids." Natsume said without missing a beat; her eyes never left her book.

Kushina's head snapped over to give her daughter a nasty glare.

"Well," Minato thought it wise to continue instead of letting the possible fight from igniting. "It would be rude and possibly devastating to our current relationships if we just decided to ignore the request." He finally peeled himself away from his work to face the female members of his family. "So why don't we just show that we are at least 'considering' their request by sending one of our children along?"

Kushina looked at her daughter, who was giving her father a weary eye.

"No, no, no." Minato chuckled. "We won't be sending little Natsume." His expression suddenly hardened and became just outright terrifying. "No one is taking away my daughter." His tone held no room for any kind of argument and was enough to even make Kushina's blood run cold.

"I guess we will be sending Naruto then?" Kushina inquired. She could already hear her son's voice goraning and complaining about the whole ordeal.

"Of course!" Minato shouted happily. "It'll be a great experience for him. He'll finally get a chance to see the world outside of the village walls and begin forging his own path forward. Just a little push from his loving parents, such as this, is all he needs to get going."

If only he knew. If only they all knew. Maybe, if they had hesitated for just a moment. Maybe, if they had just decided against the while marriage request, then so much tragedy could have been avoided.

Unbeknownst to everyone in that household, the loving parents of Naruto Uzumaki just signed his fate with such a minor conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

It had been just a few days after Naruto's narrow miss with the Nara family when he was told about the marriage proposal. As was expected, he reacted poorly to the news that he would have to meet some idiot politician's daughter for possible marriage.

Of course, he argued and fought against it as much as he could; but even with his mother backing him up, Naruto still had to go. Even worse, he had to be on his best behavior.

What made Naruto completely outraged, however, was when he was told that he would have to leave the village to meet this supposed dignitary's daughter. He had never left the village before an was none-to pleased that he was now being forced to leave just for a marriage that will never happen.

"Seriously?!" Kiba shouted before falling out of the tree he and his two friends would meet under. He quickly scrambled to a sitting position. "Your gonna get to leave the village before me? And you get to go out with some hot rich babe?"

Since his parents had told him of the marriage opportunity, of course they had to make a formal announcement about the possibility of the Hokage's son being married off to another politician's daughter. Needless to say, the village was abuzz about what kind of woman the possible bride-to-be was as well as what family was willing to wed their child to the infamous chakra-less child of the village leader.

Naruto crossed his arms as he sat against the same tree. "It's not as good as it sounds." He huffed. "I'm not a ninja, so I'm gonna' be in constant danger the entire trip. Plus you've never met a real politician. They are literally worse than Sasuke's smile."

The blond had to duck a swift fist from said Uchiha who was trying his best to ignore the two idiots and focus on the new book his alleged girlfriend had given him. It was was kind of sappy romance novel that Sasuke claimed to have no interest in, but was reading because his girlfriend told him to.

"But you're the Hokage's first born son." Kiba replied to his friend. "You're going to be surrounded by bodyguards. Plus, you never know if the girl is going to be the most beautiful girl alive or something." He leaned in close so as to whisper to Naruto. "If nothing else you might be able to at least see some nice things." He raised his eyebrow to insinuate the true meaning behind his words.

Naruto decided not to respond to his friend's perverted way of speaking and decided to focus more on his half eaten lunch.

Across the way of the boys; Ino and Sakura were once again sitting around with their own group of friends; chatting away about the usual things along with the gossip that had suddenly enveloped the entire village.

"What about you, Sakura?" One of the girls suddenly asked. The group's conversation had started out simply enough; school, new shows, interesting training info, nothing unusual. But one of them decided to mention, just a small uttering of the word, "like". Doing so sparked an ongoing discussion about relationships and who was into who and why.

Said pink-haired girl suddenly looked up from her own lunch; her mind too focused on other things to really take part in the gossiping.

"Hm?" She glanced around to see that the other girls were looking at her, Ino as well.

"Is there anyone that you're interested in?" The same girl asked while sliding a little closer to her pink-haired friend. Sakura just gave the other girl a bizarre look. A gaze of complete bewilderment.

"Why? Do I look like I like someone?" Her words were so sincere it almost hurt. Never once did relationships and being in them ever cross the girl's mind. So to suddenly be accused of being in one, or at least wanting one was just too outstanding for her to truly grip.

"You never look like your interested in anything but studying." Another girl quickly retorted with a small giggle from the other girls.

"Well sorry for trying to make sure I'm the best ninja I could be." Sakura huffed while crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't be like that Pinky." Ino suddenly spoke up while throwing an arm around the other girl's shoulder. "It's just that we won't have that many chances for love out on the battlefield, so we kinda' have to find it now while we are young and beautiful and not old and covered in nasty scars."

She pulled Sakura closer to her so that their shoulders now touched. "It's only because we care about you."

Sakura just rolled her eyes, but could not hide the smile that formed on her lips. Ino was always looking out for her ever since they were small. The two girls were as close as friends could be.

"So spill it." Ino poked Sakura's cheek with a dainty finger.

"There really isn't anyone." Sakura spoke truthfully. She honesty had never considered the possibility. Though now that the topic had been brought up, and she was forced into the middle of it, her mind did begin to wander to the people around her and just how a relationship with them could be. But, no one in particular could come to mind.

"Then what about the Hokage's son?" Another of the girl's asked. "If it wasn't for the whole 'political assassins' thing, he'd be pretty cute."

"What do you mean 'he'd be'?" One of the other girls asked quickly with a raised eyebrow. "If it wasn't for my dad being so up tight, I'd have already snatched that boy up and made him all mine." There was not a hint of shame in her voice.

All of the girls gave their friend a strange look.

"What?" The same girl said defensively. "Have you looked at the guy? Even if he ain't gonna' be a shinobi, he is still fine piece of work." She looked over at the boy, who was currently trying to physically force an irritated Sasuke to smile using his hands. The girl thrust her arms out towards the boy in a wild manner. "I mean, look at him. He's a cute goof that I bet would act like a complete fool whenever around you. How can you not love that?"

The girls all watched Naruto try to make his friend give an earnest smile, while Kiba just laughed uselessly. There was a bizarre level of determination the boy expressed just in trying to get the neutral Uchiha to smile. It made the girls think about what kind of lengths the boy would go through just to make them happy and smile.

"Maybe you're right." Another girl muttered to herself. Her eyes quickly flicked to the others before going back to watching Naruto poorly attempting to steal Sasuke's book. "He may be a civilian..." She trailed off.

"But if only he wasn't going to be married off to some foreign girl." Ino finally moaned out in exaggerated disappointment. "I guess we will have to shift our beautiful eyes to another target, right ladies?"

The group gave a sigh of disappointment.

"Still, would have been nice though." A girl stated.

The conversation continued as such; generally normal conversation about nothing. But, ever since she had been asked, Sakura could not leave the idea of love alone. She had never thought about what her life would be like outside of her chosen career.

The fact that she forgot that she would need a life outside of her duty as a shinobi hit her like a ton of bricks and the girl just sat there lost in thought about what her future and how she was going to spend it.

She found her eyes drifting back to Naruto and his friends. It was only now that she noticed the real physical differences between both a man and woman. All three boys had some good physical traits she could find herself enjoying; but none seemed to have anything else she could say she liked. She looked across the yard and noted each of the visible males while studying each of their respective features.

She would have to start seriously looking for someone at some point.

The school day concluded like always and Naruto met with his other two buddies like always right near the front entrance to the school. He was always the last of the three to make it out, no small part to them already showing the famous speed shinobi were known for.

As usual one of the three invited the other two to go hang out and do something. It was always random who would suggest what to do first, but usually all would agree on the first suggestion.

Except for today.

"Sorry guys." Naruto apologized as he walked with his friends. "I can't really hang out today. I have to go meet my dad at work and 'be reminded how to 'act properly for this whole stupid marriage thing." Naruto groaned before walked a bit ahead of Kiba and Sasuke.

"I'll check in with you guys later." He waved to them before dashing off in the direction of the Hokage's Tower. Neither of the boys responded to their friends fast departure, with only Akamaru giving a small yip as the only response.

Naruto made his way to the tower without any issue and gave a friendly hello to the receptionist before making his way to the floor where his dad's office sat. He could remember when he was younger and the long trek up the multiple flights of stairs wearing him out so much that his mother was forced to carry him all the way home.

Now, as a young man, and monster host, Naruto no longer felt even the slightest bit winded walking to his father's office. He approached the door and was reaching for the door handle when a tendril suddenly launched itself from his side and snagged his wrist, forcing his arm back to his side. Several tendrils abruptly stretched themselves out from the back of Naruto's legs and planted themselves firmly on the hardwood floor.

_**'Be silent.' **_Venom ordered before Naruto could complain. _**'And listen.' **_Another tentacle sprouted out from Naruto's back, grabbed the back of his head, and pressed his ear against the door.

At first, Naruto could not really hear much besides muffled speaking; clearly his father was busy with a meeting with someone. The muffled voices did sound heated however.

"I have told you time and again, I will not allow it." Minato's voice could be heard through the wooden door. His voice was stern and solid, but betrayed no anger or hostility. "I just finally had that cursed mark removed from the Hyuuga family and I refuse to have it re-implemented with them or any other family in this village, no matter the circumstances."

"Minato." A male voice quickly responded. "Please listen to reason. Me along with most of the council agree that this method would be the best for the entirety of the village. The economy would strengthen greatly and we would be able to put more resources into our military force. It would guarantee this village remains as the most powerful ninja community in the world. Please consider the opportunity." Despite the words, they were not spoken in a pleading manner. It was almost like whoever was speaking was trying to give an order while trying to sound like it was merely a suggestion.

"Regardless of what the council says, I am the Hokage and I am the final say in all discussions made. You may run your idea by with me as often as you wish, but my answer will always be the same." Again, Minato's voice was stern and unyielding while still maintaining that familiar authoritative and controlled voice he was so often heard using at work.

There was a long moment of silence. Naruto closed his eyes and focused with all he had to try and hear what was being said. He mentally thanked Venom for enhancing his senses as the muffled words finally reached his ears.

"You will not always be Hokage." The second male voice said in a low tone. "And while you may be now, that does not grant you immunity to everything. Especially in regards to your family. I've heard word that your wife is with child again. It would devastating if something were to happen to her, or to any of your children; most certainly if your civilian son were to suddenly have an accident while off on his little journey."

There was no attempt at hiding exactly what the man was doing. Whoever it might be must be powerful in at least some way to have the gall to threaten the legend that was Namikaze Minato.

"Please," Minato tried to remain civil, but was holding back a mass of anger. "There is no need for such behavior. If you have any other thought or suggestions in regards to the prosperity of our village, then I will be more than happy to speak with you. For now, my son should be arriving at any minute for us to discuss some very important matters."

Not another word was said and after another moment of dead silence, the sound of one of the men in the room approaching the door could be heard.

Venom instantly released control over Naruto and allowed the boy to use a tentacle sprouted out from his back to pull himself to the wall opposite the door. He quickly leaned against the door, folded his arms, and generally tried his best to look like a teenager irritated that he was forced to wait.

The door opened to reveal Fugaku Uchiha, the leader of the Uchiha clan and father of Sasuke.

It honestly came to no surprise to Naruto that it was him arguing with his father. As far back as he could remember, the two never got along or saw eye-to-eye in any kind of matter.

Fugaku was notorious for trying everything possible to put as much power back to the Uchiha clan after the supposed shame one of his ancestors had brought about the family name. Though it was never spoken about, seen as a dark part of the village's history, Naruto could not help feel as if it was not seen as such a negative thing to the Uchiha clan leader.

There had even been rumors circulating through the village that Fugaku took part in some less than legal dealings to help further whatever goals he had in mind. Something he had yet to outright refuse and something that Naruto's father had yet to find proof of.

There was very little doubt in Naruto's mind that the reason for the talk he had just overheard was in at least someway related to Fugaku's alleged illegal business practices. The only question was what exactly those practices were.

Fugakue paused for just the smallest of a moment, registering Naruto leaning against the wall, before putting on a forced smile. This brat was a friend of his second son and someone very well protected by the village despite his innumerable flaws.

To be precise, Naruto displayed nearly every quality he resented about the Namikaze and the Uzumaki families almost to a T. With the worst offender being his uselessness as a chakra-less freak. If the Uchiha leader had his way, then Naruto would not have seen the light of day after the discovery of his defect. Putting the poor boy out of his misery early was even something Fugaku had suggested at the next meeting right after the boy's birth.

It was simply the right thing to do. No one needed to live a useless life. But, Naruto, was the physical defining feature of a useless and worthless person. Something Fugaku detested above all else.

Well, maybe not completely useless.

"Good day to you, Naruto." Fugaku said. Knowing that the boy did not have the training of a ninja, the man hardly bothered to hide the sound of his dislike for the boy; just barely scrapping by with a polite-ish tone.

It did not fool Naruto. It never had. The boy was more than aware of the Uchiha leader's feelings towards him and if it was not for Sasuke being his friend, Naruto would have nothing to do with this man or his family and clan.

Naruto did not respond to the man's greeting; an anger building up within him forcing him to either keep quiet or release a tirade of insults and accusations.

This man had just threatened Naruto's family. Something that, while Naruto was aware happened often due to his father's occupation, he had never directly heard. No that he finally heard a real threat made towards the family he cared for, Naruto found it almost impossible to hold back his anger.

_**'This man is threatening us.'**_ Venom whispered in Naruto's ear, not helping the boy stay cool. _**'He threatened our family. We need to teach him how poor of an idea that truly is.'**_

"It really is." Naruto said snidely; just like Fugaku did not try to hide his dislike for Naruto, Naruto did not see a reason to hide his new hatred for Fugaku.

Surprised by the rude tone Naruto took, Fugaku had to quickly calm himself lest he let his temper get the better of him. The brat would learn to respect him eventually. One way or another.

Without saying anything else, the Uchiha leader marched off in a huff. Today was simply just not going his way.

Naruto watched Fugaku leave until he rounded the corner and could no longer be seen. He would speak to him later about the consequences of threatening him and his family.

The boy waited for a moment before walking up to his father's office door and just walking in. He never knocked and Minato eventually got tired of telling Naruto to do so after he had done it several hundred times before.

"Hey Dad." Naruto greeted with an annoyed expression. Part of it was because of the man who had just left, the rest was because of the reason he was here. Learning proper etiquette.

"Great!" Minato nearly shouted, putting down the pen he was just about to use for the mountain of paperwork he still had to do. "You're here. Let's get started."

Naruto groaned loudly.

For the next two full hours, Naruto was forced to learn, memorize, and repeat every single thing Minato told him. Not a single detail was skipped and not an error was allowed. He went through how to greet properly as well as what to say, how to say it and what every last square inch of his body was going to be doing while it was being said.

The only good thing Naruto could say about the whole lesson was that he at least had the most vague idea of what was going to happen at the marriage meeting. Everything else was just too boring to really care about.

The sun had reached the horizon when Naruto was finally free from his torture. After the overly long lesson was over, Naruto left his father's office more tired than he had ever felt after a full day of school. He clearly had regrets about not ditching the lesson entirely and spending his afternoon with his friends.

He only took a few steps out of the office before suddenly remembered what had happened just a little while ago.

A wicked smirk slowly grew across his face as an idea quickly took shape within his mind.

_**'Let us go show him what we can do.'** _Venom growled. He chuckled for a moment as his host made his way out of the Hokage's Tower. _**'Time for a real hunt.'**_

Naruto could not help but feel excitement well up inside him. He took a deep calming breath before closing his eyes and focusing all he could on the scents and sound around him.

Fugaku left just a little under two hours ago, so his scent was still present enough for Naruto. He could also hear a few people randomly speak about the Uchiha and their leader; with their voices coming from the same direction that the scent was strongest.

The young man had to hold himself back from charging off in the direction with the strongest scent. He was once again on the hunt, but this time right in the middle of the busy, early evening, streets of the village. He had to take things slow and easy to insure that Venom remains unknown and to keep everyone thinking that he was just a normal kid.

He took a shaky step forward before taking another deep breath and calming himself down further. This was just another hunt.

Naruto traveled around the village, acting like any teenager would. Acting as if he had no where to go and nothing to do; all the while, following his nose and the occasional hushed whisper of the Uchiha patriarch.

It appeared that Fugaku had not gone straight home after his meeting with the Hokage and was visiting some of the businesses he had other dealings with. Whatever they were was of no consequence. All that mattered to Naruto was finding the man and teaching him a very good lesson.

Within just a matter of a few short minutes, Naruto was finally able to track Fugaku down. The man was just exiting a flower shop when Naruto caught site of him. He clearly had no idea that he was being followed and showed no signs of worry or concern that anything was amiss.

Perfect.

Naruto began to slowly follow behind the Uchiha leader. He was sure to keep his distance and whenever it appeared there was a chance the man might see Naruto, the boy was quick to make it look as if he was preoccupied with something else.

The blond-haired boy continued to follow Fugaku as the man's path went this way and that. He would vanish inside of a store or building for a few minutes before emerging with a disturbingly pleased expression plastered all over his ugly mug.

The sun had set completely when the Uchiha leader finally saw it fit to start heading home, Naruto quietly following a good distance behind.

As they approached the Uchiha compound, less and less people filled the streets. Most were either heading home or closing up shop while the few remained where either doing some last minute shopping or were getting ready to open their own nightly businesses.

Naruto did his best to keep an eye on Fugaku's movements, but as they got closer to the home of the Uchiha, it became harder and harder for Naruto to stalk the man without him knowing.

Eventually, Naruto lost him completely right outside of the archway that announced ones arrival to the distract of the village owned by the Uchiha family. The boy quickly went about searching for the man, for a split moment forgetting that he was supposed to not make it obvious he had been following him.

A familiar tingle in the side of his head told Naruto all he needed as another wicked grin graced his face.

A hand quickly came out from within the darkness of a nearby alley and grabbed Naruto by the neck before yanking him in. In one swift motion, Naruto was slammed into the nearby wall and crumbled down to the ground.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Fugaku asked the useless youth. "Did you think I was unaware of you following me all evening?" He tapped the boy's foot with his shoe since it appeared that Naruto was not moving.

The boy mumbled something while looking down, hiding his face and shame from the much older shinobi.

"I am the _leader _of the most powerful clan of shinobi the world has ever known. And you thought that you, a less than normal civilian could follow me without being found out?" Fugaku was sure to emphasize his disgust at the boy while keep a tone of amusement at the pure absurdity of the idea.

"You are simply just a shining example of how stupid your family truly is." He chuckled. Fugaku was silent for a moment and observed as Naruto did not move or make a sound.

"Oh stand up you worthless child!" He ordered. "You may be weak, but even a newborn would not crumble completely to something as simple as that."

Naruto did not respond.

Fugaku snarled. "I said get up!" He reached down and grabbed a fistful of the boy's shirt, angry that he was being forced to sully his hands with such trash.

The second he touched the boy, Naruto's head snapped up before lunging forward towards the older man, made the seasoned shinobi flinch back at both the sudden movement as well as what was on the boy's face.

The boy's eyes no longer held any color and had become an almost disturbing milky white. A nasty grin adored the boy's face that appeared to be so wide that Fugaku was sure the corners of the boy's mouth were about to tear and bleed.

The feeling of pure unease he felt upon gazing at the boy's expression was something the man was not prepared for, despite how simple a face it was.

His surprise failed to prepare the older man for Naruto's hand reaching up and firmly grasping the front of his neck. He was caught even more by surprise when Naruto gave a small yank and easily tore free from Fugaku's grip while at the same tie slamming the older man into the wall opposite of the one Naruto had just been slumped against.

Fugaku's hands snapped to the one holding his throat and his eyes widened considerably when he found that he was unable to pry himself free. The boy's grip was like a vice. He felt the pressure on his neck increase as Naruto pushed him further against the while before dragging him up along it enough for the man's feet to stop touching the ground.

The patriarch tried to say something, but the hand tightening around his throat prevented him from uttering more than just a simple gurgle of pain.

"We know what you said." Naruto finally snarled, his milky white eyes showing a hidden glee at seeing such a powerful man at his mercy. "We heard every word that came out of your disgusting face."

All Fugaku could do in response was gag and kick out in a pitiful attempt to free himself.

"You threatened our family." As if it was possible, Naruto's grin grew wider. "That was a very bad idea. Since, as you can tell, we are pretty strong; and we have a very short temper."

The young man raised Fugaku just a little bit higher before tossing him aside like trash. The older man landed hard on the ground and instantly scrambled to sit up. He began to cough as the pressure on his throat had left, but the feeling still remained.

Naruto stomped forward, his white eyes almost glowing in the near total darkness of the alley. "Threaten our family again, and we will tear your second son apart; limb by limb and piece by piece and send them all to you in the smallest box we can find." There was no hint of hesitation on his words. He meant every single part of it. "Oh," He chuckled. "But we will keep your son's eyes for ourselves."

The hostile young man stepped even closer to his prey before suddenly crouching down, slamming both of his open hands on the ground on either side of the Uchiha with enough force to easily crack the ground his sat upon. He leaned his face in very close to Fugaku's and grinned even wider.

"And if we even _think _you tried anything while we are gone, we will hang your first born by his intestines from the top of the Tower." He pressed his forehead against the older man's with enough pressure to nearly knock him over. "Do we understand each other?"

The shock having finally worn off, Fugaku's expression quickly shifted to one of rage. "Do you have any idea what I am capable of?!" He snarled while climbing to his feet, he quickly seized up the boy and could not hide his own wicked smirk at the slight power he felt at just being a little taller than the teenager.

"We have a vague idea." Naruto responded smugly. "We are not afraid of you, or any other member of your sad little circus." Naruto suddenly reached out and slammed his open palm against Fugaku's stomach, sending the man back to the ground. "Or maybe we will just tear you apart and see if even your own beloved wife can recognize your remains?" He chuckled.

He began to back out of the alley. "Don't make us do what we promised; unlike you, we like your kids and it would be a dreadful shame if you were forced to bury what little remains we leave behind."

Naruto rounded the corner and left the Uchiha patriarch both fuming and a little bit concerned. The boy who he had just thought a short while ago as useless appeared to have...something, that was giving him some bizarre strength. He rubbed his still sore throat.

The boy was foolish and arrogant. No matter how strong he thought he was, Fugaku had enough shinobi in his back pocket to turn the strange kid into nothing but a memory if he so wanted. But, the thought that the boy might find out any attack on him was caused by the Uchiha, made Fugaku hesitate on giving the order.

Sasuke was still a ninja in training and he doubted would be capable of handling Naruto's monstrous strength. His other son, Itachi, was the prodegy of the family and he had little to no doubt that the boy would easily destroy Naruto.

But what if he didn't? What if there was a lot more that the Namikaze boy was hiding? What if he had a trick or two up his sleeve that would actually give him the capability to make good on his threats?

There had been no sign of hesitation when he made them. No sign of bluffing of any kind.

Maybe it would be best to wait it out and see of the boy ever does show what he can do. If he did not, then Fugaku would force him to. An assassin or two should be enough.

He had waited years for his dreams to come to fruition, what was a few more months?

Fugakue straightened out his attire before taking a quick look out into the street. Once he noticed there was no one around, the man left the alley and continued on his way home.

_**'We should have hurt him.' **_Venom complained as his host walked them home. _**'We should have made him realize just what we are, what we can do.'**_

"I did all that I needed to." Naruto validated his actions. He had found in incredibly hard not to give in and just break the man in two throughout the entire exchange. If he had not left when he did, Naruto could not guarantee that such a thing would not have happened.

That feeling of complete control over another human was almost intoxicating to the youth. The smell of the man's fear still filled his nostrils and brought up that deep rooted desire to express his power over his victim. It took everything Naruto had not to violently beat some sense into the poor old man.

_**'He is a fool.' **_Venom reasoned, more to himself than his host. _**'He will no doubt make attempts on our life after that little stunt.'**_

"Good," Naruto huffed as he approached his own home. "If he changes his focus more on us than on dad, then it'll make dad's job easier while making sure we have a threat under control. Their ain't nothing he can throw at us that we can't handle."

"As long as our family is safe."

_**'By any means necessary.'**_

* * *

After what felt like on a day passing, it was time for Naruto to head out and meet the girl he was expected to potentially marry. A day Naruto had clearly been dreading. The only saving grace was that he decided to gorge himself the night before so that he could hopefully stave off his unnatural hunger for as long as possible.

A boy could hope.

"Are you ready dear?!" Kushina yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Her son had gone up to his room to finish packing after breakfast, yet she had not heard a peep from him since. "Your escorts are here!"

The doorbell rang for the third time, making Kushina's famously short temper spark up.

"I'll answer it when we are ready." She grumbled. She walked to the simple stand next to the door where she had set down her morning cup of tea and took a few sips to try and calm herself down.

Today was already stressful enough. She was getting closer and closer to the due date for her third child. Her daughter had begun training with Minato for her eventual joining of the shinobi academy. And now her son was possibly going to be married off to some hussy she had never met before and possibly be never seen again.

This was all just too much, and the constant doorbell was not helping things in the slightest.

After about only a minute of waiting, Naruto finally came down from his room. He carried only a single suitcase and nothing else; except for the depressed expression stitched all over his face. He really did not want to go.

"Finally." Kushina mumbled under her breath before finally opening the door. "Sorry for the wait." She apologized quickly. "Naruto was still getting ready."

Before her stood three masked shinobi. Each mask represented a different animal; a cat, a dog, and a rabbit respectively. With the masks and all three wearing the same black bodysuit and green combat vest, there was no way anyone would be able to determine who these ninja were. And, with the explosive tag hidden within the mask, any forced removal would only insure that secret remained forever.

These masked ninja were known as the most elite that the village had to offer. These were the kind of soldiers that were sent into areas that no one was expected to survive and come out smelling of roses. Their loyalties lied with the Hokage and they were to never attempt betrayal with ritual suicide their only option if even the slightest thought of doing so crossed their mind.

The three ninja said nothing and only continued to stair forward as Naruto came walking out.

Kushina quickly grabbed her son by the wrist and pulled him into a large hug. "Be on your best behavior." She warned. "If I find out that a war starts because you were rude..." She let her threat remain unsaid, knowing that her son could come up with every possible scenario imaginable.

Naruto only groaned before saying a quick 'love you too' and heading out with his escorts towards the village entrance. With his entourage, the boy was pulling quiet a few looks from the village populace, and their words quickly reached his young ears.

Most of what they said was just the usual gossip and thus, nothing for the young man to pay any attention to.

Once the small group had reached the village entrance, Naruto could see not just his father in his full Hokage garb, but another team of shinobi waiting for them.

This other team appeared to be a lot younger and a lot more animated than Naruto's current escorts.

For one, the only adult of the group and one of the younger members were both sporting the same black bowl haircut and bright green jump suits. Both were currently doing squats while the lone female member of the team appeared to be doing all she could to ignore their existence.

The girl wore a more mainland styled outfit that was more suited for showing off her well-toned arms than any other part of her. Her brown hair was tied up into a pair of tight buns.

The final member of their little troupe was a tall teenager with long hair and a permanent scowl. His pale skin and off-white eyes were a dead give away to him being a member of the powerful Hyuuga family. A family the constantly butted heads with the Uchiha many times, with no small part being due to the families both being considered the village's most powerful.

It only took a moment before Naruto was noticed by the other group, with all members suddenly standing tall and at attention. All except for the teacher who was just smiling very brightly. This was just something Naruto was used to at this point; young or new shinobi acting as if he was some kind of important general or something just because his father was Hokage.

Most of the time, it was just embarrassing to be treated like something he really was not.

"Um..." Was all Naruto could really say to the unwanted attention. It always made everything so awkward when people were like this.

"Let me explain." The older bowl-cut haired man said in a very bombastic voice. "I am Maito Gai, the instructor for this team of genin. I have been in charge of my youthful students for almost a full year now. They have shown exemplary promise and talent. I have requested your father to allow us to accompany you and your escort to and from your destination as both a mission, and a training exercise. Your father approved."

"Huh," Was all Naruto could think to say in response before saying, "Well, it never hurts to have more company." He jabbed a finger in the direction of the masked shinobi standing around him. "Besides, I don't think these guys are going to be much for conversation."

"Thank you for giving my genin the opportunity to learn!" Gai's voice held such a level of positivity that it felt like he was almost shouting. As odd as that may seem, he also appeared to be the kind of guy that it would be hard to not get along with. Maybe his younger look-alike was the same?

"Let me introduce my youthful team!" Gai announced proudly before placing one of his hands on top of the head of his smaller look-alike. "This here is Rock Lee, a master of Taijutstu and all forms of hand-to-hand combat."

"A pleasure to meet you!" Lee shouted loudly while standing at attention. He even gave Naruto a salute.

Naruto could only raise an eyebrow at the older teenager's odd behavior.

"This," Gai put his hand on top of the head of the only female member of his team. Before he could continue, he was interrupted.

"Hi," The girl said with a kind smile while offering out her hand in greeting. "I'm Tenten and I aim to be the most proficient weapon using ninja this world has ever seen." She stuck her chest out proudly before continuing. "I plan to surpass even Lady Tsunade one day."

Naruto gave the girl a smile of his own and shook her hand. He found that it felt very soft for a weapon user.

"And this," Gai tried to put his hand on top of the long-haired head of his third student only for the boy to take a single step out of the way. Might tried again, and the genin moved once again. Gai gave a hearty laugh

"This is Neji of the Hyuuga family." He announced. "He was the top of his class his graduating year in the academy and has been looked up to as a prodigy without compare."

The kid did not say anything and did not bother to make eye contact with Naruto; instead opting to just glare off into the distance. Naruto just ignored it.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Naruto said with a smile. "Shall we start heading out?" He made for the massive gate that was the single known entrance to the walled in village. Said gate had been open for years, with the last time those gigantic wooden doors were closed was back in the last great shinobi war, so many years ago.

This was the first time Naruto was leaving the village; not counting the one time that led to him bonding with the black ooze now dwelling within him. The boy hesitated for just a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping through the massive exit.

"Remember to always be on your guard." Gai instructed his team. "Remember, Naruto is a dignitary of our village and is currently a target for anyone who his a slave to their greed. We must protect him at all costs."

His team all voiced their understanding while the masked shinobi remained silent, clearly aware of the dangers that they might encounter and more than prepared to face them all.

_**'We have nothing to fear.' **_Venom reassured his host. _**'We are the scariest thing alive and if anything id foolish enough to come for us, we'll just eat them."**_

"Would at least solve one issue." Naruto mumbled to himself, already feeling the ever so slight desire for a snack.

He failed to noticed one of his masked bodyguards slowly angle his head just slightly to glance down at the younger man. No words were said.

The group traveled in relative silence for the time being. They passed a few travelers and stopped at a small rest-stop for lunch. With the comfortable weather and lax mood of the trip, one would think it was nothing more than a simple trip.

And that was what everyone involve was hoping for. A quick journey without any hassle.

Night came and the party went about setting up camp. Everyone did their part and because Naruto is an actually decent person, he helped out as much of a hand as he could.

He still could not help but be impressed at how strong both Gai and Lee where as the pair hulled full tree trucks back to camp for wood. They both claimed that it was just a part of their training, but Naruto could not help but feel that they were trying to show off at least a little.

Naruto did feel a little bit guilty when it was time for bed. All of the ninja were to take shifts keeping watch while he was allowed to sleep the entire night. Venom, of course, had no real concern about the issue since with the abilities he had granted Naruto there was no way anything could sneak up on the group without the host knowing about it.

The group continued in their travels the next day. The dense forests that were so well known to them all slowly became less and less so. The trees became thinner and further apart from each other as the rich soil slowly became more and more loose before finally giving way to sand.

At the same time, the comfortable weather of the Land of Fire slowly gave way to the unforgiving heat and wind of the new territory. Naruto was not prepared for it at all.

While water and proper attire was brought for the trip, Naruto failed to expect for it to be as hot as it was. Or that the wind would be able to pick up and spread as much sand as it did. Overall, the trek was a very uncomfortable and painful one for te non-ninja.

The shinobi all appeared to be taking the discomfort in strides. All having changed into basically short-sleeved versions of their regular wear. While those not wearing masks showed signs of some light sweating, Naruto was absolutely soaked and dripping in it.

"You ninja are amazing." Naruto panted out as Venom complained for the umpteenth tie in his head about the heat.

Tenten glanced over at the younger boy. Her eye caught sight of a single droplet of sweat slowly trail down from his head. She found her eyes transfixed as the single drop went down to his neck, over his collarbone and vanished within the neckline of his shirt.

The older girl had to shake her head to clear it. It had been a while since she had taken care of any of her needs and it was clearly starting to affect her way of thinking.

"I don't know how you are able to withstand all of this." Naruto continued to praise the ninja.

"It not anything really special." Tenten responded. It was clear from her tone that she was trying to not let the praise go to her pretty head. "All we are doing is circulating our chakra through our bodies a little faster than normal." She explained. "Chakra can work a little kind of like blood and help control your body temperature."

"Man." Naruto groaned. "Ninja are so awesome." He sighed while heaving his shoulders, causing a few drops of sweat to fall to the hot sand. "I really wish I could have become one."

No one else decided to speak up. There was nothing they could say that could possibly lighten the mood. Or so they thought.

"Worry not, young Naruto." Gai's boisterous voice boomed. "You may not be able to become a ninja, but you are still capable of doing some amazing things. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled weakly. It was too damn hot!

"You are more than welcome to come and train with me and my team whenever you wish." He shot Naruto a grin. "I'll even give you the same specially designed outfit that me and Lee wear."

_**'No.'**_

"Really?" Naruto looked up to the man. Despite his odd appearance and strange mannerism, he appeared to be a pretty good guy.

"Of course!" Gai boomed. "I'm sure each of us would be able to help you get better at something. Even if it isn't anything related to being a ninja. You're a member of our village after all, we have to look out for each other."

After only a few more hours of travel, the group could finally make out their destination; a massive wall compiled completely out of tightly compacted sand and earth.

They had finally reached the village Hidden within the Sands.

Just like their home, this ninja village was surrounded by a massive wall with a single gigantic doorway leading both in and out. Unlike their home, however, not as many people were passing through said gate.

As the small party approached the gate, a shinobi of the village stepped forward from his guard post. He requested their forms, the usual travel info and the like.

"We are escorting the firstborn son of the Hokage to his meeting with the Kazekage's daughter." Gai stated, his usually soft and friendly face having taken on a dead serious and business-like expression.

The guard looked at the papers he was handed before giving Naruto an inquisitive glance. The boy was soaked in sweat and was breathing a little heavier than normal. It was clear that this kid was no warrior.

But, it was not his place to speak on political manners.

The group was allowed into the village and were given an escort to a ritzy hotel nearest to the Kazekage's work place.

As they continued onward, more detail about the village was given by the group's escort. They were told of the obvious scarcity of water and farming, as well as some of the more political issues that the village faced. The Kazekage hoping that at least the meeting with his daughter could help lesson some of the issues, if not outright get rid of them.

Being the bleeding heart that he was, Naruto wanted to do all he could to help this clearly struggling village. Was still very hesitant on the whole marriage thing though.

_**'Isn't it kinda' odd that nobody said where we were going for this whole thing? Or even who you were being set up with?'**_

Naruto, once again, ignored his inner demon as they approached the hotel and each member were lead to their own specific rooms. Or at least that was expected.

Due to the party being a few more members than was expected. The masked shinobi were to share a room together. Gai's team also had to share a room. And Naruto was to have a room all to himself because of his status as an important dignitary.

Naruto was apposed to the special treatment, but had no choice in the matter and was quickly shoved into the room along with several of the hotel staff. Naruto was quickly cleaned and dressed in the proper attire to meet the Kazekage.

Before he could question why all of this was going on so quickly, the staff informed him that tonight was the night that he was supposed to meet his possible future bride.

Turns out that due to some other issues going, the date of the meeting was moved up one day and Naruto needed to be both mentally and physically prepared tonight.

So far, this entire trip had been one gigantic mess.


	7. Chapter 7

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

Naruto was more nervous than he had ever been in his entire life. Even with his bodyguards surrounding him, he still felt like a vulnerable child. The fact that the sun had just set and he was in the middle of an unknown village did not help with the feeling one bit.

_**'This is getting boring,' **_Venom complained as his host made his way to the meeting place, the very top floor of the Kazekage's tower. _**'Why don't we ditch this stupid thing and find us something tasty to eat?'  
**_

Naruto rolled his eyes at Venom's single-mindedness and continued into the Kazekage's Tower. The building was not as tall as the Hokage's Tower, and it appeared that was the case for all of the other buildings making up the village.

The building was mostly dark and empty with only the lights present being those illuminating the groups path.

The very top floor of the tower was very much like that of a traditional floor; wooden flooring and ceiling with paper doors all along the sides of the corridor. Only one of the rooms was lit though, and the same room had two guards standing right outside the door.

With an audible gulp, Naruto took a solo step forward and made his way to the room. His guards waiting patiently. With the son of the Hokage and the daughter of the Kazekage together in one place; it was too good of an opportunity for anyone with any ill intent to ignore.

Naruto stood at the entrance to the meeting room, the soft glow of candlelight revealing the vague shadow of what was inside.

The guards on either side gave a bow before sliding the door open and allowing Naruto to step inside. The second both of his feet touched the hardwood floor, the door was slide closed.

The inside of the room was very modest. Several dozen candles were placed within the room to give it a gentle and cozy glow. In the middle was a low wooden table surrounded by soft looking cushions. Atop the table sat a complete set of china as well as a steaming pot of tea, clearly having just been brewed.

On the side of the table farthest from where Naruto stood sat an older man. The man had short dark red hair and appeared to have some slight bags under his eyes, not unlike those Naruto's own father was slowly starting to develop. He wore the ceremonial robes of the Kazekage and appeared to have been waiting for Naruto's arrival.

"Please." His voice had the same aura as Minato's; full of authority and power. "Have a seat." He held a hand out to the seat on the other end of the table.

"Yes." Naruto nodded dumbly, for a moment forgetting where he was and what he was there for. "Thank you for your kindness." He stepped forward and sat at the offered cushion. It was just as soft as he had expected it to be.

"I am pleased to see that you have arrived at my village safety, young Namikaze." The Kazekage spoke once Naruto had sat down. "I hear that this is your first time in my village. I would love to hear what you think about it."

Naruto knew he had to choose each of his words very carefully. Just one wrong word had the chance to spell disaster. "From what little I have seen so far, your home appears to be a very vibrant community. The people all go about not unlike those from my own home; filled with a pride for their home and a desire to see it flourish."

_**'Didn't know you even knew some of those words.'**_

The Kazekage nodded. "That was what I had hoped you would see." He gave a light sigh while looking hard at the table. "But as you have most likely also noticed, this is a very dry village. We do not get very much rainfall and we must either build very deep and complex wells or travel very far distances just to obtain the most minute amount of water to keep everyone in the village alive." His voice was solemn and pained.

Before Naruto could respond, the Kazekage's head snapped up and looked the boy in the eye. "But my village's woes are not the reason you have come to visit." The man put on a clearly forced smile. "You have come to visit my fine home to meet with my beautiful daughter."

This was it! This was the moment that determined the very future of both Naruto, his family, and the village he called home. "Yes." He replied. "But that does not mean I can ignore the plight of those in need. I am sure that no matter the outcome of my visit here; once I speak to my father, my home will be more than happy to assist your village."

If the older man was pleased with Naruto's words, he did not show it on his face. "As kind as what you say may be, you would do well to remember to not make promises you do not intend to keep."

"I would never go back on my words." Naruto responded quickly, it took all he had not to shout as the feeling of an argument hung over the pair. "If I said that I was going to help, then I _am_ going to help. I may not have the strength and power of a ninja, but that does not mean that I can't do everything I can for those in need."

Once again, the Kazekage did not show any reaction to Naruto's words.

"Either way." The older man decided to drop the subject entirely. The boy was young and clearly had not yet set his foot into the political pool just yet. Starting an argument with him would be pointless.

"I think it is about time for you to finally meet my daughter." He made no motion but glanced over to another sliding door near the pair.

The door slowly slid open to reveal a woman that could not be but a year or so older than Naruto. Her sandy-blond hair was short, just barely reaching the middle of her neck. Her skin was very well tanned, showing that she spent most of her time outdoors training. Her own outfit was one befitting the position of the Kazekage's daughter.

The woman gave a low bow and remained as such for a moment before slowly raising herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal a hard teal gaze.

From first impression alone, Naruto had a feeling that this girl wanted to be here just as much as he did and was probably doing all she could to not yell at her father for how stupid this all was.

"Address yourself." The Kazekage ordered. His tone was an odd mix of fatherly while still holding a hard demanding side.

"My name is Temari." Her voice held a hard tone to it; similar to her father's. "I am the first daughter of the Kazekage of the Village Hidden within the Sand." She did not look at either of the two men as she spoke, her gaze firmly planted on the wooden floor in front of her. "I am a genin of the village and work in a team along with my two brothers and the Kazekage's chief advisor."

She slowly raised her eyes to finally look at the man that she was going to be forced to be with.

Their eyes met.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Namikaze Naruto."

The Kazekage gave a nod of approval at his daughter's words. They had practiced everything for weeks and, just like her ninja training, it was as harsh and demanding as possible with sever punishments for every single mistake that was made.

Naruto could tell just how upset the girl was just by how restrained her voice was. It appeared that the only one who actually wanted to be here was the Kazekage himself.

"Come." The village leader ordered his daughter.

Temari slowly rose to her feet and walked over to the table with such a stiff stance that Naruto would have thought she was floating above the floor with how little her head moved. She silently sat at the table.

Her father gave her a hard look and it took all of Temari's will not to give one back. Holding in the sigh of disappointment she could feel welling up in her throat, the young woman reached out and grabbed the still steaming teapot in front of all three of them. She moved the small porcelain cups so that one was in front of both Naruto and her father before pouring a small amount of tea into each.

Seemingly pleased with his daughter, the Kazekage turned his attention back to Naruto. "As you are aware." He spoke plainly. "I am hoping that you will look towards my lovely daughter as a potential marriage partner." He picked up his cup of tea and looked at Naruto who quickly did the same. He remained silent for a moment before raising an eyebrow at the young man siting across from him.

It took Naruto just a moment before realizing what the man wanted of him. He quickly put the cup of tea right back down on the table and could hear just the smallest bit of a sigh escape the Kazekage's lips.

He turned to better face Temari before bowing low himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Temari. I am Naruto Namikaze, the first son of the Hokage of the Village Hidden within the Leaves. I am not a ninja like you; I do not have the ability to mold chakra in any manner, and so I am destined to be a member of the civilian class." He paused for a moment to allow for the girl to absorb everything he had stated.

He spoke a little bit more about himself. Mostly just about his possible future.

As the boy talked, something caught the eye of the Kazekage. He turned his head just a bit to better see what he had witnessed and noticed that it had come from Naruto's cup of tea. He saw something move in the reflection of the brown liquid that matched when Naruto moved. At first, he thought it was just the boy's reflection; but there appeared to be something just not right about it.

The man was about to dismiss the whole thing as nothing more than a trick of the eyes and his mind making up things that were not there. But a flash of white in the reflection forced his attention even further. Especially since Naruto had not even a small silver of white anywhere on his person.

"I am still in school and am still trying to find my own path." Naruto finished.

Temari's face did not show any reaction to what the young man had said. It was clear she had heard him, but it was impossible for him to have any idea on her thoughts.

The Kazekage cleared his throat, alerting the two to his presence once more. "Now that you two have met." He stated. "I have set for you two to spend all of tomorrow together." His eyes instantly landed on Naruto and hardened to a point where his target could practically feel his blood slowly freeze.

A warning was sent without any words from the man to the boy. Despite his attitude and demanding demeanor, the Kazekage did care deeply for his children, but would not hesitate for a moment to sacrifice his entire family if it meant the well being of his village.

_**'Oooooh.' **_Venom cooed wickedly. _**'We got a protective papa here.' **_A deep chuckle echoed through Naruto's skull.

"I expect the both of you to use the time to get to know one another." His eyes never left Naruto's. "As well as give you a chance to see more of what my lovely village has to offer." His eyes never blinked or wavered. "You will be free to go anywhere that you two please; as long as the guards all around the village allow for it."

He paused for just a moment.

"Your own guards will also be doing their job I am to assume," His eye finally narrowed. "To insure _nothing _happens to the either of you."

Naruto could see Temari almost trembling with what he assumed to be rage. He had the feeling she was none too happy about being forced to spend her day with some guy she had just met. At least he appeared to be half-way decent and not much like the usual pompous people her family was used to dealing with.

But as far she she knew, Naruto could really be just as bad, or even possibly worse. A slew of terrible thoughts forced their way into her mind and made her almost look at her possible husband-to-be in horror. She had to get a hold on her imagination before anything more terrifying could enter her mind.

The Kazekage stood, signalling that the other two should as well.

"I shall wish you both a good night. I will not be seeing you tomorrow morning, Naruto Namikaze." He glanced at his daughter. "I expect to see you at home immediately." His tone had become less like the village leader, and more like a strict father.

All three bowed low to each other.

"It was a pleasure to meet you; Lord Kazekage; Temari of the village Hidden within the Sand." Naruto states respectfully.

"And it was a pleasure meeting you, Naruto Namikaze." Both father and daughter replied. All three turned to face the door they had originally entered the room in and walked out in unison. Not because that was how it was meant to be, more just coincidental.

Naruto met with Gai's team the next floor down from where the meeting was held. His other bodyguards were off doing their duty from unknowable locations.

"So, what was the Kazekage like?" Tenten asked as the group walked back to their hotel. She was honestly more concerned about the Kazekage's daughter more than the man himself. Not for any particular reason mind you, she just wanted to know some basics about who else she would be helping protect tomorrow.

Honest. It was most definitely not because she thought that the Hokage's first born son was kind of cute or anything like that. Maybe being around her team too much was starting to have effect on her. She needed to find some other friends to hang out with.

_**'Pretty pathetic if you ask me.'**_

"Hmm." Naruto thought for a moment. "He isn't like dad, but also kind of like him in a way." He scratched his chin. "I'm not really sure what exactly to make of him right now. But I don't think I really like him since it looked like his daughter wasn't really into this whole thing."

"I can't really blame her." Gai suddenly spoke up. "To be forced to marry someone you know nothing about; sounds like it would be terrifying from her perspective."

"While I have no doubts that young Naruto here is nothing short of the most upstanding man around." Gai sniffed right after stating such exaggeration. "The Kazekage's daughter does not know that. As far as she may know, Naruto could be just playing up the act of a good person." His expression was dead serious. "You could easily be pretending to act nice and respectful when, in reality, you plan on doing any number of terrible things to her."

He glanced over to the boy. "Be prepared tomorrow. She is going to be on her guard the whole day."

Naruto gave a nod of understanding.

_**'Please,' **_Venom bemoaned. _**'The worst thing we could ever do to her is eat her alive.' **_The way the monster just haphazardly stated the fact would have been very unsettling if anyone but Naruto could hear it.

Venom grumbled a little bit more. _**'I'm feeling hungry.'**_

* * *

_**'I'm starving.'** _Venom moaned loudly.

The next day came quickly and Naruto was rudely awakened at the very first sign of sunlight. He was quickly forced to get ready for his date and whenever he tried to slow things down a little, one of the maids would lash out at him with a few harsh words. Even though, all he did was get dressed in the smae kind of clothes he wore when he first arrived to the village.

Naruto met with Gai's team once more and was escorted to the meeting spot; a fountain made entirely out of sand in the middle of the shopping district of the village. No water came from the fountain and it was clearly just something meant to be wither a location marker, or a nice addition to the otherwise bland town center.

"Good luck." Tenten teased with a wink before leaping off to her guard post. Neji just gave Naruto an irritated look before doing the same. The sweat on his brow was enough to tell Naruto that the boy was more upset with being out in the heat of the desert more than anything else.

"She her just how much of a strong man you are!" Lee cheered before giving a thumbs up and leaping away.

"You'll do great." Gai put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Just show her the power of the youth of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Naruto gave the man an unreadable expression as he too leapt away. He was simply just not looking forward to this date; more so than he did for the original 'mission'.

The boy stood there for a short amount of time. He watched some people that passed by and slightly enjoyed the feeling of not being immediately recognized. While he was not pestered daily by people due to his status, not being immediately recognized as the son of the Hokage and just being another face in the crowd was quiet refreshing.

It was all he could do to distract himself from that all too familiar ache in his gut. Every person that walked by started to look more and more like a source of nourishment for the boy. He really hoped Temari would show up soon before he actually lost control and started eating the villagers.

What made things worse, was that there were absolutely no signs of any other animal in the entire village, from what Naruto could see. Not even the weakest of stray beast could Naruto sniff out in this sandy town.

He tried to focus on more of the details of the things around him in an effort to distract away from the painful ache in his belly. Luckily he did not need to wait that much longer.

Temari had finally shown up to the agreed upon meeting place dressed in her usual attire. Her hair was back to the four pigtails she was so much more used to and she even had her beloved giant fan with her as well. She hated not having the weapon close; especially when her younger brother was near.

Naruto audibly gulped as he saw the girl approaching him. He could feel his throat become very dry and his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth.

"Hey." Temari said once she had reached the boy. Her tone clearly showed signs of not wanting to go along with this whole ordeal. And, to be honest, Naruto could not really blame her. "Did you wait long?"

_**'Too long!' **_Venom roared. _**'Does she have no clue the number of meals we could have devoured with how long we were waiting!'**_

"No." Naruto shook his head. "Not at all."

The pair stood in silence for a moment.

"So, uh..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, a thin layer of sweat could already be felt by his warm hand.

"Are you ready to get this over with or not?" Temari asked harshly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Um, lead the way?" Naruto gave the girl the least awkward smile possible, and failed terribly.

Temari rolled her eyes before turning away the boy and walking away. "Come on." She ordered bluntly.

The morning was spent with the pair walking around the village in silence. Temari always walking a few steps in front of Naruto, and the boy content with staying behind just to avoid any more awkward interactions.

It was definitely not because he kind of enjoyed the view of the girl's behind or anything. Even with her usual kunoichi attire, Naruto could tell that the girl's rear looked good. Then again, nearly every girl he had ever met tended to have a shapely posterior.

"We are stopping here." Temari declared as she came to a stop in front of what looked to be a kind of cafe.

It took Naruto a moment to realize what the girl had said and to stop focusing on her bum.

The local kunoichi did not wait for a response and walked right in without saying another word. Naruto decided to just take a seat at one of the outside tables instead of following the girl. He did not want to make the day worse for her by making her wait while he looked at a menu he had never seen before.

_**'Something doesn't feel right.' **_Venom grumbled. _**'And I am not talking about this stupid heat.' **_Naruto had learned a long time ago that whenever felt something was off, something usually was a bit off.

"I'll keep my eyes open." Naruto mumbled while holding up a menu to block anyone from seeing his mouth move. It was difficult for Naruto to really detect anyone near him with malicious intent. Part of being a new place for the first time usually put most people a little on edge, and Naruto was no different. This meant that his strange brain radar was triggering all over his head whenever anything even remotely close moved.

"Hey." A voice forced Naruto's attention back to the reason he was even in this village. Temari had returned from within the cafe with a fancy looking frappe in one hand and a simple glass of ice water in the other.

"I didn't know if wanted anything." She mumbled somewhat embarrassed upon taking not of how extravagant her treat was compared to the simple glass of water.

"Thank you." Naruto replied with a kind smile. At least the girl was being considerate despite the situation. Plus, a drink was necessary if Naruto had any hope of staying alive through the entire date.

Temari sat down and not a single other word was spoken between the two. The silence quickly became uncomfortable and Temari did all she could to enjoy her treat while looking anywhere but directly at the boy sitting across from her.

Naruto, for one, could not stand the stale atmosphere and decided to finally say something. The only problem, was what could he talk to her about? He did not want to talk about her family for fear of possibly bringing up a touchy subject. And talking about life in the village would probably be responded to with a simple one or two word answer.

Maybe there was something else.

"So," Naruto finally broke the silence. Him suddenly speaking up startled Temari and caused her to nearly leap out of her chair. "Um," He was committed now, he needed to think of something now!

"Please." Temari quickly interrupted. "Do not try to 'get to know' me or anything." She sounded exasperated. "I honestly want nothing more to do with this whole stupid plan of my father's. I was just told that I was going to be meeting my future husband and to not screw up the meeting. My father never said a word about a public date."

Naruto understood where she was coming from exactly. "I'm with you on that completely." He agreed with a heavy sigh. "Both my mother and father would not let up on how 'important' it was that I agree to marry you." Naruto rested his elbows on the table in front of him. "Oh, but it was still 'my choice' even though it it is so important."

Temari did not respond and instead just looked away with her spoon in her mouth. She had just told the kid to not be familiar with her and yet the very next thing he does is try to strike up a conversation.

Seeing the girl refuse to respond, Naruto leaned back into his chair and just drank his water in silence. Once again, the air around the two became tense and uncomfortable.

"Look," Temari decided to shatter the silence this time. "It's not that I don't think I could learn to like you." She took a moment to find her words. "I just don't want us to get too friendly and for others to think we are actually becoming something."

Naruto gave a nod. He understood. To be honest, it was the same with him.

"I understand." Naruto said aloud. "I'm only a student right now. I don't even have a career path lined up yet. Marriage is the last thing on my mind."

The two finished their glasses and went right back to randomly walking through the village. Again, Temari leading the way with Naruto trailing behind. The uncomfortable air that had permeated around the two since this morning had gone once both had come to an understanding of one another.

The afternoon sun had begun to beat down on the village with an unforgiving heat. Most people were either indoors or were doing all they could to stay cool. Usual life in the desert and something Naruto did not think he could ever get used to. Even Temari had brought out a small fan to help keep herself from sweating too much.

_**'Heads up!' **_Venom shouted in Naruto's mental ear just as that strange tingling feeling alerted the boy to something coming from behind. The sound of someone running behind quickly reached his ears just as he turned his head to see a cloaked figure dashing towards him.

The unknown person quickly pulled out a large knife and attempted to thrust it straight into Naruto's gut. The boy easily sidestepped the attack, causing the cloaked person to continue a little further than they had anticipated.

Temari could sense the incoming attack long before Naruto could and just held her closed battle fan in front of her. The knife clinking off the metal uselessly.

Without skipping a beat, Naruto's arm raised up before slamming down the palm of his hand on to the back of the stranger's head and instantly grabbing on. He pulled the assailant's head back a bit before putting a good amount of strength into his arm and pushing the person's head forward with enough force to send them straight forward to the ground.

The stranger's face met the compacted sandy ground with a hard thud.

No sooner did the stranger show up did several platoons of the village guard suddenly show up around the pair. Naruto's own guards quickly appeared around him along with Team Gai forming a closer circle around the young man. All were armed with a myriad of weapons, all pointed at the downed figure.

The person gave a groan while attempting to get up to at least their knees. It took the individual a moment to recognize all the various sharp objects pointed directly at them before they very slowly began to raise their hands up. They still had both of their hands closed however.

"Open them." One of the Sand shinobi ordered. With the number of them around him and the fact that they all had their mouths' covered, it was impossible for Naruto to determine exactly which one gave the order.

The face of the figure still could not be clearly seen under the hood of the cloak, but Naruto had a sinking feeling that the person was giving a nasty smile. Once the person's hands were open, it was clear to see why Naruto's gut sank.

In the middle of each of their palms was a seal that sparked for just a moment before a massive plume of smoke burst out from both hands and quickly enveloped everyone in an obscuring fog. Almost immediately after, the sounds of clanging steel and shouts of effort filled the darkened street.

A hand quickly grabbed onto the back of Naruto's collar and yanked the boy back and off his feet. He was quickly pulled away to a side alley, away from were most of the noise was coming from.

He lost his footing and fell backwards onto the warm sand. Quickly looking up he saw the familiar faces of both Rock Lee and Tenten looking down at him from within the thick cloud.

"Are you alright?" Lee asked while Tenten turned her attention back to were the fighting was taking place.

Naruto gave a nod before getting back up to his feet.

"Sorry about the quick save." Tenten spoke without looking away from the alley entrance. "We would have noticed that guy sooner if a group of these Sand guys didn't keep trying to get in our way."

"Neji and Gai fighting?" Naruto asked quickly. He wanted to at least know where the people he had come with were.

"Of course!" Lee practically shouted. "Right now they are holding off these assassins while Tenten and I are to protect you." He gave Naruto a thumbs up. "Have no fear for I know that we all will keep you save and that you receive not even the smallest scratch!" He gave a big smile.

"Any idea who these guys might be?" Tenten asked, her eyes constantly flicking back and forth for any signs of anyone approaching the small group.

"Political assassins. Mercenaries for hire." Naruto listed off the possibilities. "Rogue shinobi hunting a bounty." His tone of voice gave off the impression that Tenten should know this already.

She did, and she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at the boy's tone. "I meant more specifically than that."

"Oh." Naruto paused for the smallest moment. "Not a clue."

The three remained silent so as to not draw any unnecessary attention; letting the sounds of battle disguise their location.

It did not take long for the sounds of battle to start to bear and ugly fruit.

All it was, was a small little cut on the back of the hand. A cut so shallow that only the smallest possible amount of blood could force it's way out to the surface thanks to the pressure built up in the weapon holding hand.

The scent of the sweet liquid instantly reached Naruto's nostrils and the ache he had in his gut since last night grew ten fold.

He was lucky that neither Lee or Tenten were looking in his direction as a waterfall of saliva was flowing freely from between his lips. His mind was lowly growing hazier and hazier as more of that delicious scent filled his lungs with every breath.

The boy tried everything he could to ignore the desire to feed. He could not risk anyone finding out about his horrible need; least of all those that are from his home village.

More and more sounds of pain began to fill the smoke covered street. The scent of blood becoming stronger and stronger; mixing with the smell of hardened steel and the perspiration of the doubled over in pain as his gut grumbled loudly in protest to its master's refusal to satisfy it.

He needed to hunt.

He needed to feed.

Naruto just needed to hold out for just a little bit longer. There was a market nearby; so there must be livestock of some kind close by. He just needed to keep it together just long enough for him to hunt something down.

He made sure to keep his eyes away from his two comrades, lest he loose control and start seeing them as a source of nourishment. Both Lee and Tenten appeared to be nice enough folks and he really, really did not want to be the one to cut their lives short by consuming their innards.

The sudden clashing of steel forced Naruto to focus on the more pressing issue at hand as a shinobi dressed completely in black had found the small group and was currently being held off by Tenten.

Lee, being the kind soul that he was, would not allow for his friend to face a threat alone and came charging in with a solid fist aimed at the enemy's side. He was able to force the enemy away from his teammate.

"Run for it Naruto!" Tenten ordered. "We will hold them off! Just get somewhere that has a lot of people. Hide in the crowds!"

Her words had good merit. With Naruto lacking any kind of chakra signal that could be traced, he could easily lip into a big enough group of people and become practically invisible to anyone trying to find him. It was something he had been doing for years anyway, so the idea was not anything new to him.

_**'We should stay.' **_Venom argued. _**'Let them come to us and into our waiting jaws.'**_

Naruto ignored the beast and did as Tenten told him. He turned and ran, quickly vanishing within the did not take him long to get clear from the visually obscuring screen of black and into the bright sunlight streets of the village.

Everything appeared normal outside of the thick cloud, the street was as empty as could be since it was still the middle of the day and the sun's unforgiving heat was still beating down on everything below it.

"I was hoping it would be me that catches up to you." A voice called from within the cloud of smoke.

Naruto turned to see the darkened figure of a grown man come walking out do the smokescreen. His body was completely covered in black clothing, except for his eyes and a few strands of what looked like, silver hair.

Almost immediately, a sense of familiarity came over Naruto, like he had met this person once before in his life. He tried to pretend he was surprised at being found, despite his alien senses telling him long before the man showed up, that he was being followed. No matter how strong his hunger was, Naruto could not let anyone know about his abilities.

The adult shinobi tilted his head slightly. "What's the matter? Don't recognize me?" He chuckled darkly.

Naruto stared at the man, trying to figure out where the strange feeling of familiarity was coming from. There was nothing about the man that Naruto could identify, not even the few stray gray hairs or the brown of his eyes sparked any sort of memory from the boy.

"Not at all." Naruto responded appropriately. "There are a lot of people that don't like my dad. So you'll have to forgive me for not really caring about what they all look like."

The man gave a chuckle while shaking his head. "You were a lot smaller then so I can't really blame you for not remembering." He looked Naruto dead in the eyes. "I'm the guy that tried to kill you when you were a kid."

Naruto just stared blankly at the man. "Again, my dad has a lot of enemies. More than one person has made attempts on my life." He tried to get the message across. "You're going to have to narrow it down a little bit if you want me to remember you."

The man raised an eyebrow at his target's apparent lack of fear. He had nobody to protect him and was about as strong as any other civilian; and yet he stood in front of assassin without even the smallest hint of fear for his own life.

The arrogance of politicians and their families was beyond anything the man could comprehend. But his job was to make sure that the kid did not leave the village alive, and he always did what he was paid to do.

"Let me give you a little hint." The man raised one gloved finger. "There was a long fall involved."

Naruto thought for a moment. "You're going to have to give a few more details." He shrugged.

Now the kid was starting to irritate the man. Was his murder attempt that bad for the kid to so easily forget? Forget it! This was all a waste of time.

The man pulled out a kunai knife and dashed straight for Naruto; weapon prepared to dig into the youth's vulnerable chest and to end him as quickly as possible.

Naruto took a single step to the side and watched with an amused grin as the would be killer sailed right on by harmlessly. While the opportunity to retaliate was clear and open for Naruto to exploit, he still wanted to the guy to continue trying to explain just who he was; and why Naruto should care.

"You trying to do something?" Naruto asked as his assailant quickly tried to turn on his heels and swipe at Naruto's head. The boy ducking the blow easily. This ninja _must _be taking it easy on Naruto if he was dodging these clearly telegraphed attacks so easily.

The man gave a heavy huff before jumping back just a bit. "I'm going to kill you." He stated with a slightly heated voice.

"Aw, why?" Naruto gave a hurt expression. "I thought we could have a chance to really connect, ya know? Maybe we could forge a true nemesis status with each other and be the bane of each other's existence for years to come?" He dodged another easy to avoid swing; a playful smile stretched across his sweating face. "Come on! It'd be great!" Another blow was easily sidestepped.

Boy, well trained shinobi were actually not that impressive. If this was what he had to look forward to facing to protect his family, then Naruto really had nothing to worry about.

"Look." Naruto continued. "We can start by telling each other our origin stories. You can go first."

The sound of the brat's nearly giddy tone was really starting to rile the man up. He pulled another kunai out with his free hand and started to attack the boy with rapid strikes aimed at specific locations to cause the most pain possible. his employer wanted the boy dead, but did not say anything about making the murder quick or painless.

Naruto dodged and weaved around each stab and swing with the only signs of effort being in relation to the blazing son above. The entire display made the would be assassin appear almost incompetent. Even more so when one noticed that Naruto had not made any attempt at retaliation.

With nearly a roar of anger, the man finally pulled away after a few seconds of useless swinging. He glared daggers at Naruto before slowly taking a deep breath and straightening his posture.

"Fine." He growled. "You wan to play games? Then I'll tell you exactly who I am." He jabbed a thumb at his own chest. "I am Mizuki Touji of the Hidden leave Village! I am also the guy that tried to kill you by dropping you down a fucking cliff!"

Naruto continued to smile while raising an eyebrow at the man. "Wow!" He breathed.

The man could feel his chest swell with pride and the feeling of power course through him as he observed annoying expression on his target's face. Soon it will slowly change to a look of shock and terror, and Mizuki simply could not wait to see the boy's face change. The feeling of completely destroying the hope of a target was always something he relished.

Only, the change never came. Naruto's expression never changed. Or, at least not into the one Mizuki had expected.

Naruto put both of his hands on his hips and leaned in slightly while gazing at the masked man with a raised eyebrow. "I honestly can not believe it."

Now it was Mizuki's turn to look confused. Just what could he have said or done that would have caused this sort of response instead of the one he had so desperately desired?

"I honestly can't believe just how easy it was for you to give me your full name like that." Naruto chuckled. "Not much of a 'secret' assassin if all it takes is someone asking your name." Naruto began to laugh. He thought he would at least feel a slight bit of anger towards the man who just admitted to trying to murder him as a small child, instead Naruto simply felt amused.

This man who could not even kill a chakra-less child was now trying to kill a young man with a monster inside. Just the idea itself was too humorous for Naruto to not laugh at.

Naruto's laughter halted suddenly when an enormous amount of pain tore itself through his gut. His hunger reaching a point he could no longer pretend to ignore.

Mizuki saw red! He tore off one of his gloves to reveal a seal on his palm. Using the knife in his hand, the man stabbed the middle of his palm. The instant the blood came flowing free, the seal glowed and a large puff of smoke erupted from the seal. The smoke cleared quickly and in its place was a massive shurikan easily as big as the grown man's torso. The razor sharp edges of the weapon where covered in, just as sharp, triangular metal teeth.

He placed the hollow center of the large weapon on his fist while forming a handsign with his free hand. Almost instantly, the weapon began to rotate rapidly enough to make an audible spinning sound that nearly caused a distortion of the surrounding air.

This brat had mocked him for long enough! He was going to enjoy cutting the kid up into such tiny pieces and letting the vultures of the desert feed on whatever he decided to leave behind.

Naruto quickly stopped laughing. His eyes glazed over and fluttered for a moment before blinking back open. His smile had shrunken down to a small smirk as he held up his hands and appeared to look at them as if he had never known he had them in the first place.

"It's been a while." Naruto mumbled as he clenched his hands into fists. "Since I could feel."

Now, Mizuki was very confused. This kid was beyond strange, even for this odd world they all lived in. Putting him down was probably more of a mercy than he had originally though.

Without saying a word, Mizuki dashed to the side, almost vanishing from sight before suddenly reappearing behind Naruto with his weapon poised to hack the kid in two. The speed of the spinning blade turning the very air around it into a tiny ripping hurricane.

Just before metal could meet flesh, the back of Naruto's right hand came around and slammed itself into the side of his attacker's head. There was enough force behind the hit to send the man flying to the ground and send the giant shurikan off his arm and off into the distance.

"Now that was rude." Naruto chided as he turned in an unnatural way to face the downed man. The way he moved was almost like how a cloth puppet would move, very limply. "We haven't even properly introduced ourselves."

Mizuki rubbed at his aching jaw and stared up at the oddly moving boy with a mix of shock and confusion. This kid was supposed to be just another weak civilian. Yet one haphazard backhand just sent this seasoned warrior sprawling to the ground.

Naruto placed a hand against his chest. "I am Venom." A massively wicked grin spread across the boy's face. "And I just wanted to personally thank you for bringing me and Naruto together in an unholy monstrosity of a relationship." He chuckled.

The boy hobbled closer to the man who was now slowly getting back to his feet; his eyes never leaving Naruto for a moment. He wanted to reach for another of his weapons, but did not know what would happen if he should try to do so.

"When you dropped this kid own that ravine so many years ago; you gave us both the gift of each other. And for that, I thank you. But, you also put my host in danger. And that is something I simply can not allow." Naruto's body leaned down as his grin grew wider and wider until it eventually started to get too big even for his own face. The edge of his lips continued to curl back further and further until eventually reaching the sides of his eyes.

As disturbing as that image was, what made it even worse was how Naruto's mouth was filled to the brim with an uncountable number of misshaped, sharpened fangs. The look in the boy's eye was enough to make the experienced assassin hesitate for just a moment on how poor of a decision it was to agree to this mission.

"My Naruto has not yet fully embraced what he has become." The monster controlling said boy chuckled, all color completely missing now from the eyes. "He still refuses to feed properly and just get by with the bare minimum." He stalked forward even closer. "I do not have such an issue."

Naruto's head reared back as a long, sharp red tongue wriggled it's way out from between his large jaws. The appendage dripped a nearly constant stream of saliva.

Mizuki made an attempt to stand up and flee. But as he turned to try and crawl away, Naruto's arm stretched out much longer than normal and snagged the young man's leg before violently dragging him back until he was right in front of Naruto's feet.

The adult tried to quickly get away from the offending hand to no success and before he knew it, Naruto's fang-filled face was mere inches away from his own. The boy's twisted face grinned even wider as the hand holding Mizuki in place suddenly twisting around and a terrible cracking sound came from the man's pinned leg.

"Now, it would be a real shame if I took away my hosts first true kill. So I shall say my good-bye while giving you one gift in return as a thanks for introducing us." He leaned in even closer until the tip of his nose almost touched his food's. The long slurping tongue wriggling back and forth underneath his chin.

"Your mission was a success." The monster whispered with it's grin growing even wider. "When you dropped little Naruto down that ravine; he died. He slammed into the wall before hitting the ground and his skull was busted open like an egg. His spine was all but dust as well."

A sudden explosion of vile laughter tore itself from the possessed Naruto's throat. "And if you had just been an inch or two from where you threw him off, he would still be there as nothing more than a skeleton and a memory. It was only by me wriggling into his brain and restarting everything that I even have this host." He chuckled again.

**"Naruto, is dead." **The voice no longer was that of the young adult. **"Without me, his body would rot. His heart would stop and his brain would die."**

The monster's laughter died down as Naruto's features slowly returned to normal. The boy reeled back for a moment while clutching his eyes with his hands, almost like he was caught off guard by a sudden light.

He had only been vaguely aware of Venom taking partial control over his body as his hunger had basically overridden all other thinking for a moment. But now he was back and staring down the man that had threatened him not once, but twice now.

The agony in his gut had finally reached far beyond the point of what the boy could handle. Everything that was not him, was now food. Including the man laying before him.

He didn't want to. This was all wrong. This was another human being for crying out loud. But, Naruto could not deny the pain in his stomach any longer and could not hold back the torrent of drool that began to seep from between his lips.

Once again, Mizuki tried to get away only for Naruto to tackle him back to the ground once the man started to crawl away. He easily pinned the man down on the hot sand.

He could not do this. It was so wrong.

But, this man did try to kill him. Who knows what he would do after. Maybe go after his sister next? What if he did more than just kill her?

He could not allow that! He had to make sure this man would never become a threat to his family.

There was only one way he could make sure; and it just so happened to be the same solution to his other problem.

He could no longer hold back. All of his reservations were gone.

With tears streaming down his face, Naruto let out an inhuman howl before slamming his head forward with his mouth wide open. The second his tongue touched the cloth covered neck of the man he had tackled; Naruto's teeth clamped down with enough force to instantly draw blood out in a nasty spray.

Naruto's eyes opened in shock. He had expected the taste to be disgusting, like iron and vile. Instead, the flavor that danced along his taste buds was pure bliss.

Mizuki let out a scream of pure pain as he felt each individual tooth break his skin and gouge into hard muscle and tendon. His every cell screamed as the mouthful of flesh was slowly pulled away from his body in a long stringy mass. He could hear the blood pumping into his ears as it poured out onto the hot sand.

Naruto pulled back the mouthful of flesh, tearing out more and more as he held his prey down. With a mighty rip, the meat was finally free and Naruto quickly swallowed all he could without even the thought of chewing.

The taste was beyond what he had expected. A part of him had been afraid that he would like it should he eventually give in to his base need. And he was right to be.

The closest thing he could compare the taste to was back to when he ate his first live meal. But even that paled in comparison to the bountiful flavor filling every corner of his young mouth.

The tears of regret had become those of joy as he savored every last drop of blood that touched his lips.

More. He needed more.

Naruto leapt to his feet, flipped Mizuki onto his back, easily ripped apart the cloth and chain mail the man wore, and began tearing fistfuls of flesh out of the man's abdomen. Every handful of meat vanished within his hungry maw until the man's insides were exposed.

After, just like with all of the other animals he had devoured in the past, Naruto began reaching about inside the man's open insides. He would tear out and toss aside the parts he did not like while quickly consuming the more flavorful portions of his meal.

Inhuman screams of agony tore themselves from Mizuki's throat as he could see his literal insides be yanked out and shoved into the gnashing teeth of his target. He tried to beat the kid with his fists, but every strike he made was completely ignored; as if he was doing nothing at all. Eventually, his screaming began to fade as blood started seeping into his lungs and his vision eventually blurred away to darkness.

Mizuki had long passed due to a combination of shock and blood loss; but he had screamed and shouted the entire time. Luckily for Naruto, his wails of despair blended in perfectly with the still ongoing sounds of combat. Not a soul came to see what had made a man make such horrific sounds.

After eating his fill of the man's innards, Naruto finally made his way back to the man's head. He sniffed loudly. The delicious scent of the ultimate price filled his nostrils and enticed him to snatched the dead man's head with both of his hands.

With a mix of blood and saliva dripping from his mouth, Naruto gave a snarl as he swiftly yanked the head of the carcass in half. Leaving the juicy brain perfectly intact.

He tore his favorite food out and quickly went to work devouring all he could, leaving not even the faintest hint of flavor behind. Even going to so far as to lick the inside of the corpse's skull clean of any remaining brain fluids.

Once Naruto had finally licked his fingers and chin clean, he looked down at his hands in silent contemplation.

He finally did it. He finally gave in and threw away the last thing that separated him from a real monster. But, he did not feel as regretful for his actions as he had expected. Maybe it was because of his inner demon, or that his meal had threatened him. Whatever the case may be, Naruto felt surprisingly good after finishing his meal.

He felt, normal.

The nearly constant pain of hunger that he had dealt with for so many years had gone completely. He no longer felt the need to gorge himself on anything he could lay his hands upon. Naruto almost wanted to cry at finally no longer feeling that constant pain.

_**'This is how it was always meant to be.' **_Venom's demented voice cooed in Naruto's ear. _**'We are now more as one than we had ever been before.' **_His words did their job in distracting Naruto from thinking too much about what he had done. _**'Feels good right? Feels normal. Like it was always meant to be this way. Remember, we are so much more than human now. They are just food to us.'  
**_

The sounds of continued conflict suddenly reminded Naruto that he was not alone.

"I need to hide this." His tone was blank and held no sign of fear or anxiety one would expect a newly made murderer to have.

_**'Leave it be.' **_Venom suggested. _**'Let the world know what we can do and what we are!'  
**_

Naruto ignored the monster and began to look around. The smoke had finally begun to clear away and it would not be long before the blood soaked Naruto and his meal would be noticed by all.

In a panic, Naruto grabbed as much of the remains as possible in both of his arms. With a mighty throw, he tossed the corpse onto a nearby rooftop, smashing it into the wall a few times before finally making it over the edge. There was no way he would be able to clean up the blood splatter on the wall, so Naruto just hoped nobody would notice for at least as long as he was in the village.

Naruto quickly shifted around the sand to hide the blood and bits of gore that he refused to eat before licking at his clothes to clean up as much of the stuff as possible. Since that clearly not going to work, Naruto turned his clothes inside out and was distraught to find that the thick blood stains had soaked through the fabric.

He had to think of something fast. No, faster than fast, right now.

_**'Calm down,' **_Venom chuckled. _**'Watch.' **_A mass of black tentacles suddenly erupted out from Naruto's back and quickly yanked and pulled at his clothes until they were nothing more than shreds of fabric on the sandy ground.

Naruto quickly used his hands to cover his man parts as the tentacles scattered the cloth pieces and buried them under the sand. Once that job was done, Naruto's extra limbs started to gently wrap themselves around thin frame. Once each tentacle was tightly bound to their host, they began to flatten and spread out until they covered the same amount of skin his clothes once had.

The tentacles quickly began to move and shift until they had the exact same breathing room and texture as his past clothes. And just a moment later, the fake clothes had even become the same color as his shredded clothes.

Naruto looked down in amazement right before a thought entered his head.

"Could you always do that?"

_**'We are now one.'** _Venom quickly replied. _**'There are now so many things that we can do that we never could do before.'**_

"Then how did you know we could do this if we were never one before?" Naruto's squinted into the empty air in front of him. He must have looked silly, standing in the middle of an empty street, arguing at nothing.

_**'Be silent.'**_ Venom warned hastily as the smoke had finally cleared. Naruto quickly dodged around the side of one of the nearby buildings to avoid been immediately seen.

Naruto stood around for a bit before suddenly hearing his name being shouted out. The boy quickly rounded the corner to see everyone still alive and well, but with a few cuts and bruises they did not have earlier.

"You all did great!" Gai praised his team while the small group stood by the side. He complimented each of his students while also letting them know that there was always room for improvement.

Naruto's three other guards walked around him in a tight circle; each scanning every visible inch of the boy for any signs of injury or trauma. Through the gaps in between the soldiers, Naruto could see perpetrators of this whole event all tied up and unconscious.

Or, they at least looked unconscious and Naruto could not smell yet smell if any where actually dead or not.

"Looks like you made it out just fine." Temari finally spoke up after watching her date be looked over like an antique in a shop. It was somewhat amusing seeing the boy pay no attention to the three trained assassins looking him over and simply not caring.

She could not help looking him over for just a moment as well. The boy did not have even the tiniest scratch on him or even a single hair out of place. A small part of her started to get a little angry. She was covered in sand and got a few cuts and bruises from the fight; nothing serious, and here was this little helpless civilian that didn't even have a speck of dirt on his collar

"Yeah," Naruto looked away with an ashamed expression. He had a good idea what such a battle-hardened warrior like her might be thinking about a scrawny little guy like him. Why did she have to be so much taller than him too?

"Looks like our date is over." Naruto said while as his body guards finally decided to leave the kid alone and go about identifying those that had attacked them. It looked like a combination of both ninja from Naruto's own home village and Temari's working together.

Just another thing to expect in the world of politics.

Temari gave a short nod. "I feel that the time we have spent together has been enough for me to come to a conclusion on the matter of you becoming a possible marriage candidate." Her tone had shifted to that of a political figure.

It took Naruto just a moment to see what the woman was doing. She was turning her obvious rejection into a clearly political statement. Having Naruto's bodyguards around as well as Gai's team gave the pair a number of witnesses that would be able to give accurate statements to prevent any political upheaval the pairs unwillingness to marry might cause.

The girl stared at Naruto for a moment with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh!" Naruto quickly realized that it was his turn to continue the act. He quickly strained his posture before giving Temari a low bow. "I too feel that our time spent together was very educational." Naruto spoke as if he had rehearsed these very words just moments ago. "But I must unfortunately refuse you as a possible candidate for marriage. I do hope that my harsh decision does not create any further tension between our two villages."

A smirk graced Temari's pretty face before she too bowed towards the boy. "I understand and respect your decision. I will confer with the Kazekage of the village and inform him that there is to be no marriage between the two of us. I will also do my part to insure that our two villages remain allies."

The two stood straight and looked into each others' eyes before reaching out a hand towards the other. They gripped the other's hand tightly before giving a single hard shake. The pair did not break eye contact until their hands were back to their sides.

"Ok," Naruto finally broke the strained eye contact and looked over to everyone else. "You all saw and heard that, right?"

Gai's team, sans Neji, nodded while Naruto's guards just stared at the boy.

Naruto gave a curt nod. "Good. I don't want dad or any of the council getting all uppity about this whole thing." He mumbled.

Temari quickly parted to go speak to her father and left the Konoha crowd to do whatever they pleased. Naruto was just happy that this whole thing was over as well as no longer having that awful pain in his gut.

At least for a while.

The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. Naruto and Gai's team decided to make the most out of what time they had left to explore the village, shop around, and generally enjoy themselves in that way only young adults can.

Naruto got to really know the young ninja and was even able to get Neji to say a few words. The blond remembered to quietly ask what the Hyuuga boy's problem was, but was only told that there were issues at home by Tenten.

The girls was always the most level headed of the group and was able to not only keep the always excited and energetic Rock Lee under some semblance of control, but also force Neji outside of his stoic and bland personality on occasion.

Naruto had nothing but admiration for the entire team. Each member complimented the others in both combat and in personality. He could see why he heard so many of the older shinobi speak so softly about their old teams as if they were family.

Because they were just that. A family.

The young civilian could clearly see the familial bonds between the the teammates that were not unlike those he had with his own family. And Naruto could not be happier about that.

To him, nothing was more important. So, forming such a bond with teammates just meant that there was a level of dedication, protection, and efficiency that could not be replicated by any haphazardly put together group of shinobi.

It was just one of many examples of what the Village Hidden in the Leaves did to elevate itself above the others in terms of military might and population happiness.

Made Naruto proud of his home, and of the man that ran it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Naruto and his little group left the Village Hidden within the Sands the day after his and Temari's date. There was no point in him remaining after the agreement of not marrying, and staying any longer could potentially cause some political tension that would just be best avoided.

The trip home was an uneventful, but pleasant one. Without that constant nagging hunger pestering him, Naruto was able to let his mind wander. It allowed him to think so much more clearly and observe everything around him without worry.

The only thing that even really bothered the lad during the entire trip was the bothersome heat of the desert, and the fact that Venom felt the need to remind his host that the pains of hunger would eventually return unless he continued to eat more of his own kind.

Naruto should have found it strange that this information did not bother him. He should have questioned why he did not respond with such horror after eating his first human as he had so many years ago with that small squirrel.

But, he simply did not. After everything was said and done, Naruto really did not feel much of anything towards what he had willingly done. Maybe it was all the previous killing of random animals for food he had done for so many years? Maybe it was the fact that the man he had disemboweled had, in fact, become a meal?

Whatever the reason may be, Naruto did feel any remorse for his actions nor did he fear when he would need to feed again.

_**'He deserved it.' **_Venom would whisper in his ear whenever the possibility of doubt came close to the young man's mind. After having the taste of his favorite food after so many years, the creature feared that his host would regret his choice and never properly feed again. Venom had to insure that his second favorite food would still be supplied to him.

_**'We are so much stronger than before.' **_His name befit the words he wriggled into Naruto's young mind. _**'We can no protect our home without fear. Nobody would ever expect the weak son of the Hokage to host a terrifying monster.' **_He would occasional whisper. _**'Let all who threaten us feel our teeth tear them apart.'  
**_

The monster's near constant chatting was really starting to annoy Naruto. He knew all of this already. He was more than ready to protect his family once he was back home.

He understood that, considering the world he lived in, to protect his family and home he would have to resort to some outright gruesome things. If his little stint in the sandy village was anything to go by.

But that still did not stop Naruto from beginning to question Venom's true motives. The creature was always far too excited to help protect Naruto's family, but in the most brutal ways possible. Either that or constantly wanting to be fed.

Even after having been with the monster for so many years, Naruto could never really tell what it actually wanted. Sure, it said it wanted the same things he did, but even the most brain dead of fools could see that was not entirely true.

Naruto truly wanted to know what Venom really wanted and even had the highest hope that it really did just want a safe home and a constant supply of food. But, just the way it would talk, laugh, and whisper to him always made Naruto question the beast by at least a small margin whenever it talked to him.

Hell, Naruto still did not even know what the creature really looked like or what being completely bonded really meant. The thought that he would be potentially consumed by the monster itself did enter his mind a time or two. But the overwhelming fear of no longer being capable of protecting his family and home prevented Naruto from directly confronting the demon. As far as he knew, the monster would simply take control over him if he should ever get too far out of line.

His recent cannibalistic action had really got Naruto thinking about his inside friend and what it really was and wanted. This made him silent. Very silent. Both outside and internally to Venom.

Something that concerned the beast.

_**'What troubles you?' **_Venom asked one evening. The group had made a small camp and were eating a simple meal around the campfire. It was a quiet night.

Naruto did not respond to the creature and simply continued to eat his meal in silence. After eating, everyone went to bed while those who were to keep watch remained by the fire.

Naruto entered his tent, changed into his evening wear and sat on top of his sleeping bag.

"We need to talk." He stated in as quiet a tone as possible. He really did not need anybody overhearing his conversation.

_**'About?' **_There was the smallest hint of fear in Venom's voice. Having a host that would reject him was a scary thought. He would need to control him completely and constantly try to suppress Naruto's mind if the boy decided he was done with the creature. Venom knew Naruto well enough to be able to mimic his mannerisms perfectly, but having to deal with Naruto constantly trying to override his control would eventually cause his control to break and reveal everything to everyone.

Needless to say, Venom wanted to avoid all of that.

"You." Naruto sighed. "Just, what are you? Why are you helping me? Why do you keep trying to make me kill things?" He tried to keep his voice down despite the urgency and demand it still had.

While he could not see it, Naruto could tell that the monster just gave a shrug. _**'I already told you. I am Venom. A demon that was sealed away countless ages ago that was released when you hit my prison. I-'**_

"I know all that already." Naruto was already getting impatient with the thing. "I'm asking why? Why do you want to do what I want and never ask for anything but food in return? What do you really want?" He had to take a calming breath lest his voice get too loud. "I will refuse to eat until you tell me everything."

Venom was silent for a moment.

_**'My kind believes that we should control our hosts completely.' **_The creature suddenly stated. _**'The moment we bond with a host, we are expected to shove their own personality down and take over their body and mind. We use our host to gorge ourselves before eventually consuming our host completely and moving on to the next.' **_He paused to allow Naruto to absorb his words before continuing further. _**'Sometimes, we will find a host that matches with us in compatibility. A host that we can live inside without needing to consume them. Having a compatible host allows us to use all of our strength without restriction and frees us from the worry of having to find a new home.'  
**_

"Is that what you are planning?" Naruto's voice was low. He honestly did not want to believe that Venom was planning on eventually eating him as well as everyone he knew and cared for. But he knew that if that were to be the case, he would need to find out some way of stopping the monster. Even if that meant ending his own life in the process.

_**'No.' **_Venom stated. _**'I am not like others of my kind. I do not believe that my kind and our hosts should fight. I believe it best for us to work together to meet each other's goals. Yes, compromises must be made, but that is what is required for both us and out hosts to live long and prosperous lives.' **_His explanation was sound.

"Then what is your goal? You already know mine. All you ever want to do is eat and kill. There must be something else that you have in mind."

_**'You are right in thinking that there is more that I want than just food. More than just the home I have found in you.' **_The creature gave an almost annoyed sigh. _**'I want to finally rid this world of a mistake that I once made long, long ago.'  
**_

"What kind of mistake?" Naruto asked wearily. Anything something like Venom would consider as a mistake must be something really, really bad. Or good, depending on your point of view.

**'_One that has caused a lot of suffering and death for an untold amount of time. I push you to consume so that we may bond faster. So that we may become stronger faster.'_** Venom explained quickly. _**'I do not know when my mistake my rear it's ugly head again, but I wish for both me and my host to be ready to face it when it appears.'**__**  
**_

Naruto did not immediately respond. He was not sure if he could really believe Venom's words. They made since to explain his rash behavior, but it all could just as easily be a ruse to gain Naruto's trust.

"Then why do you feel the need to whisper things to me? To try and make me do what I don't want to?"

_**'All to make us stronger!' **_Was Venom's rushed response. It's eagerness to convince it's host of it's intentions was obvious even to Naruto; making the boy even more cautious of the creature. But he had a feeling that pressing the issue any further than it already had been would yield no more than the current results. He would have to find another way to get more factual details from the monster.

For now, Naruto would continue as is. He would be a fool to say that the monster was not useful to him for his own goals, so he saw no need to try and reject it completely just yet.

He did not saying else and decided to finally lay down and go to sleep.

After a little less than a full day of travel, the group finally arrived home. Naruto had to admit, seeing the massive walls he was used to feeling so safe in from the outside was almost daunting the first time. The tall stone walls looming in the distance; representing home for those returning to within them, or an unbreakable fortress for those that wished to invade.

The only thing preventing the village from appearing like an actual fortress were the constantly open massive wooden doors. A friendly greeting to all if nothing else.

Once everyone made it through the gigantic doorway and presented their ID's to the guards, they all went their own separate ways. Of course, not without saying a kind goodbye to one another and hoping that they all might eventually meet again under less serious circumstances.

The ninja all went to go present their report of the mission directly to the Hokage himself. The man having requested immediate knowledge of the events as soon as the party were to arrive back home.

Naruto just went home, happy to finally be back and to no longer have to worry about that stupid marriage thing. Upon arriving back to his home, Naruto was greeted by his loving mother and sister and spent the rest of the day at home either going on about his little trip or just relaxing.

All the way over at the Hokage's Tower, the group of shinobi were giving their oral reports on the mission. Of course, the less experienced Gai's Team went first and were quickly dismissed right after. Of course, Gai was going to give them his own lecture and discuss the events of the mission since there were still many things that his young students could improve upon.

After they had left, it was time for the true bodyguards to give their report. And each member did just that. Each gave their report one at a time and right after, would leave the office to go rest after a successful mission.

Minato, while conflicted about the political impact the lack of a marriage will bring, was pleased that at least neither side appeared to be very upset about the end result. At least in the case of his son and the woman involved.

He was about to get back to the pile of paperwork he had been working on before the mission debriefing when the tired man noticed that the last of the shinobi was still standing at attention in the middle of his office.

Minato eyes the masked figure for a moment before putting his pen down and leaning forward, placing his elbows on the desk in front of him. He did not say a word. He had dismissed them all, yet one of his most trusted shinobi had directly disobeyed the order and remained.

Obviously, considering the order and what the ninja was doing, this was not a hostile action. But, for one of these elite and loyal warriors to disobey a direct order must mean that this was something of the utmost importance.

Minato's eyes narrowed.

The shinobi took a single step forward before bowing low and remaining in the bowed stance for a good few seconds before straightening up.

"Speak." Minato ordered. His full attention was on the soldier before him. His eyes focused on every single minuscule movement the warrior made. His ears deaf to all but the sounds that left the ninja' mouth. Even the very scent of the room left the Hokage's mind as every single one of his senses became fully dedicated to this most loyal of members of his military force.

"I have sensitive information in regards to the mission..." The shinobi's voice was clearly male, and held as little emotion as possible. This was not because the person in question had none, but it went with the face concealing mask he wore. A lack of full identity allowed the person to feel less personal about whatever mission they were one; especially one that might involve the harm or death of a comrade or loved one.

Minato did not respond and just sat as motionless as a statue, waiting for the man to speak.

"...In regards to your son."

* * *

"I still can't believe it." Kiba bemoaned as he dumped the crumbs from his lunch box into the open mouth of his canine companion. He and his friends were hanging out at their regular spot during the lunch period and had just finished listening to Naruto's experience in a different land.

"What?" Naruto asked with his mouth full. "It's not like it was the first time I've ever been attacked before."

"He is clearly not referring to that every day occurrence." Sasuke stated with an eye roll, finishing his own lunch. "Why do I continue to hang out with the two dumbest morons this village has to offer?"

"Because without us, you have no personality." Naruto explained with a smug smile, making the Uchiha just roll his eyes again.

Kiba let out a sharp laugh before continuing with his complaining. "He's right though. I don't mean that same old junk."

Naruto gave his friend a confused glance.

"Ugh," Now Kiba rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about you letting go of such a hotty." He clarified. "I just can't believe that you would just up and say no to marrying someone like her and miss out on that hot bod and all that power too."

"How do you even know if she was attractive or not?" Naruto quickly retorted.

Kiba gave the boy a knowing smirk. "Come on now my dear, sweet, innocent Naruto." Kiba's voice had become like that of an instructor.

Naruto furrowed hos brow at his friends demeaning words. He knew when he was being picked on. It wasn't his fault that he had trouble noticing the obvious.

"Have you ever seen an unattractive kunoichi?" Kiba asked with a raised eyebrow. "Even if they've been scarred in battle, every single kunoichi out there is hotter than Hell."

"You have such a way with words." Naruto groaned. Of course his friend would be more interested in the girl he met than the attempt on his life. Again though, it was not like assassination attempts on him had not happened before in the past.

"Did you at least get a picture of her for us?" Kiba asked, ignoring Naruto's retort. He had hoped here at least some sort of perverted tale, but knew he would be left with nothing considering who his friend was.

"Why would I have a picture of her?" Naruto asked in as honest a tone as any person could make.

"Oh I don't know." Kiba responded sarcastically. "Maybe because she was hot?"

"Do I really need to tell you just how creepy it would be for me to just ask this girl; who isn't even interested by the way, for a picture of herself?" Naruto lectured. "I may not want to marry the girl, but that doesn't mean I want to freak her out and maybe cause a chain reaction that could lead to a a full-out war between our two villages." He crossed his arms. "Did you think about that?"

"Not at all." Kiba responded with a massive grin, Akamaru giving a small yip as well. He leaned back against the large tree and gave a sigh. "Besides, nothing really happened while you were away. It was all just the same either way."

Kiba paused for a moment. "I think they are building another add on to the school though." He stated offhandedly. Not really much news about if that was the most exciting thing Kiba could think to bring up.

"Unfortunately that means 'they' are now looking for a new lunch spot." Sasuke mumbled in an almost worried tone while trying doing his best to avoid looking at a small group of students walking out of the main building.

"Who?" Naruto was quick to ask. Sasuke was normally cool-headed and Naruto had never heard the boy refer to anyone that was not a member of his family with anything but indifference. So for the lad to have a sense of concern in his voice when revering to whomever, instantly caught Naruto's attention.

"Well, uh..." Kiba tried to come up with an easy to explain method of telling Naruto the upcoming issue, as he too had noticed the same small group leaving the nearby building.

"A bunch of bothersome delinquents that do whatever they please whenever they please." Sasuke stated bluntly while giving the smallest gesture towards the slowly approaching group. Said group was made up of nothing but girls; all wearing attire that basically stated that they were in the ninja education classes.

"Really?" Naruto gave his friends an accusing look. "The two heirs of two powerful clans of a powerful village are scared of a bunch of punks?"

"It's not as simple as that." Sasuke was quick to say, his voice lower than before. He hoped the group did not hear Naruto's loud voice as they got closer and closer.

"Yeah," Kiba agreed in a whisper. "They are all strong. Really strong. And they are really really good at shinobi techniques. I've seen one take down one of the instructors within just a few minutes." Kiba too, gestured towards the incoming group. He hoped beyond hope that his dense friend would notice them quickly enough to keep his voice down.

"So why hasn't anyone done anything about them?" Naruto asked with his arms crossed. "No matter how bad they are, eventually someone should have put them in their place by now."

Kiba, finally tired of his friend provoking fate, quickly covered the loud-mouth with his hand and responded in the same hushed tone. "Like I said, they are scary strong. I man strong enough that their own families are afraid of them. And a few of them are from some very prominent and powerful families as well."

_**'What wimps.'** _Venom mused from within. _**'Afraid of a few punks? Such strong and upcoming shinobi we have here.' **_It said sarcastically with a chuckle.

Before Naruto could tear his friends hand away and tell him off for doing something like that, Kiba instantly pulled his hand away and began to look as busy as possible doing...something with Akamaru.

Sasuke had opened his book once again and was so focused on every single written letter, that Naruto doubted anything less than a blow to the head would be able to tear him away from his reading.

_**'Humph.' **_Venom grunted as Naruto finally noticed that strange tingling coming from the back of his skull.

He turned and noticed several slim, yet obviously well muscled legs standing directly behind him. Naruto felt an overwhelming dread suddenly wash over him as he slowly looked up at who the closest pair of legs belonged to.

A tall girl sneered down at the boy. Her hair was an odd very dark blue and her eyes were the familiar pale of the Hyuuga family. Her skin was almost as pale as Sasuke's and the rest of her with lithe with defined muscles. Her eyes held a steely glare that forced the boy to look and stare directly at them. The girl wore a baggy tan jacket with the sleeves visibly torn off, baring her arms to the world.

An odd outfit for sure, but compared to the other things Naruto had seen some ninja wear, it was pretty tame.

"Um," Naruto got to his feet. "Hi." He smiled widely. Looking at the rest of the group, it was composed completely of girls all wearing outfits ranging from the practical to the almost obscene.

The Hyuuga girl gave the boy a once over before an almost sinister smirk graced her lovely face.

"Your the Hokage's kid, aren't you?" She leaned forward a bit. "The kid born from the most famious ninja that can't do a damn thing?"

Naruto's smile instantly faltered. "Hey." His tone offended. "Where did that come from? I haven't done anything to you."

The girl gave a fake shocked expression and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my!" She exaggerated. "You are absolutely right. It's not like as if you and your boyfriends were not just talking about all of us." Her eyes shifted over to both Kiba and Sasuke, who were doing their best to simply vanish away.

"It's not their fault." Naruto said standing in between the girl and his friends. "They were just telling me who you are. I never knew about you all until just now."

"Should we do something?" Sakura whispered into Ino's ear. She and the rest of her little group had watched the scene unfold. Usually, the delinquent group targeted the students from the ninja side of the school.

"Did you hear that girls?" The girl glanced back at her cohorts. "This idiot didn't know who we are." She sounded like she was about to burst out into laughter.

She cracked her knuckles while giving Naruto a very threatening look. "Why don't we give him a good demonstration of who we are."

Naruto put his hands up and began to slowly back away. "That won't be a good idea." Naruto warned, recalling what happened to the last person that threatened his life. He was more than aware that Venom would yank away control if it felt it's host was in danger, and Naruto really did not want the deaths of a few school students on his hands.

"Why?" This time one of the other girls decided to speak up. "Think daddy will come and save you? The worse that we will get is a little scolding and some extra after school work." She chuckled. "And your two losers won't do a damn thing either."

The girls shot the pair a threatening glare. Instead of bulking at the threatening gaze like was expected, both boys stood up and squared up to the group. Even Akamaru got up and faced the girls.

"Do you really think that?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. He blinked and his once onyx eyes shifted into the infamous red and black Sharingan the Uchiha were so feared for.

"We don't care about what our parents will say about this. We aren't about to let you just pick on our friend like that!" Kiba interjected quickly.

"This is turning into some student drama junk isn't it?" Sakura leaned in to Ino, failing to notice the blond haired girl glued to the scene before her. "Should we do something?"

The other girls all squared up and formed a line to either side of their apparent leader. "It doesn't matter what family you idiots came from or how good your training has been; all of us can easily take down two useless failures and a wimpy rich kid."

"I-I'm not actually rich." Naruto quickly corrected, though no one heard him.

The tension on the air was palpable as both sides stared each other down. It felt like minutes before one of the girls charged forward and slammed into Kiba with a hard shoulder slam, sending him sailing backwards. This was enough to drive the other girls into rushing forward and attacking the boys. Two went straight for Naruto.

Most of the girls went after both Sasuke and Kiba, going two-on-one for each. Both sides went at it as hard as they could without resorting to any techniques that might get them all into much deeper trouble.

Instead of going for any sort of attack, the two girls appeared to be more aimed at grabbing Naruto more than anything else. The boy was able to surprise them by avoiding most of their attempts, but in order for him to keep his secret intact, Naruto had to eventually let the girl's catch him.

The Hyuuga girl gave a smirk as she watched Naruto struggle against her strong friends. She slowly walked towards the boy as she noticed her other friends grab the other two boys.

_**'We are going to swallow her skull if she dares to touch us.' **_Venom snarled. _**'We will show all who is truly to be feared.'**_

"Now I," The girl jerked head from side to side to loosen the joints. "...Am going to show you why you should know me. And why you need to be very, _very _afraid of what I can do."

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see several members of the academy staff running over. Obviously a fight breaking out between ninja-in-training was going to get a lot of attention. The only problem was that he was not sure if they would get here in time to save the girl from a grizzly fate.

Chakra began to visibly form around the girl's hands as she got into the familiar fighting stance of her family. The blue energy began to twist and swirl around until it began to appear like a blue fire.

The moment Naruto's blue eyes saw the signs of fire, something weld up inside him that he had not felt in a very long time.

Fear.

A feeling of absolute terror suddenly overcame Naruto. And he could feel it all stemming from the monster inside him.

Venom was screaming inside Naruto's mind. Roaring for his host to flee as far from the flames as possible. The boy could feel his insides squirm around as the very creature itself began to try and tear itself away from its own host just to possibly escape the fire.

Before Naruto could even fully understand the creature's strange response, the Hyuuga girl thrust a palm forward. The center of the burning hand was heading straight for Naruto's chest when that overwhelming fear quickly shifted into an even stronger rage.

With a surprising amount of force, Naruto was able to push away on of the girls. With his now free arm, Naruto reached forward and was able to grab onto the attacking girl's wrist and stop her dead in her tracks.

Everyone around them came to a sudden halt and stared at what they saw with wide eyes. The Hyuuga girl Naruto had grabbed looked just as shocked if not even more so. Even the instructors that had been running over and frozen in their steps at witnessing the normal Naruto halt this apparently very feared young ninja-in-training.

Naruto glared hard at the girl, whose eyes were now flicking back and forth from Naruto's own steely blue orbs to his hand still gripping her arm. He wanted to yell at the girl or even hit her back for what she had planned to do. Venom was even condoning such action, and was even offering his own ideas on how to properly punish the girl. Most involving eating different parts of her.

Slowly, Naruto began to notice that the girl's skin started to become redder and redder until her entire body was a bright burning red. He could also hear her breathing speed up and could feel her start to shake.

Naruto's anger shifted more into concern almost instantly. Sure, he wanted to scare her and let her know he was not just going to let her hurt him. But the poor girl looked like she was about to pass out.

"A-Are you ok?" The kind-hearted boy asked as he leaned his face in just a little bit closer. Almost forgetting what the girl had just tried to do, he reached up with his other hand, the girl's eyes instantly snapped to it upon it entering her field of view.

She started to shake even more as the boy's hand slowly approached her face. She wanted to close her eyes, or turn her head, or even tear her arm off and run away. But her legs would not listen to her screaming mind.

When the hand finally placed itself gently against her forehead, the girl's expression turned to one of complete terror and she finally got enough of her senses back to yank her arm away from Naruto's grasp.

She slowly backed away from the now concerned looking boy. Her breathing had turned into a steady pant as she looked from Naruto's face to the place his hand had once been holding, her skin growing an even darker shade of red, if that was even possible.

Without saying another word, the odd girl turned and ran back towards the school's main building. Seeing their supposed leader flee, the other girls dropped the rest of the boys and ran after her, all shouting words of concern.

Something like this had never happened before, and the shocked faces all staring at Naruto were proof enough of that. Even the instructors were not really sure about what to do, besides taking both Kiba and Sasuke to the infirmary for the cuts and bruises they got from their little scuffle.

It was only when the teachers finally reached the boys and began to escort them away did all three boys realize the trouble they were going to in back at their respective homes.

"What was that all about?" Kiba whispered as the academy nurse placed a bandage over a nasty cut on the back of his hand.

"No clue." Was Naruto's only response as he too was being looked over by a medical professional. "Who was that anyway?"

"Hinata of the Hyuuga clan." Sasuke responded right before suddenly sucking in air through his gritted teeth as another nurse applied a cotton ball soaked in disinfectant to one of his few cuts.

"Any idea why she is like that?" Naruto inquired as doctor requested Naruto take off his shirt for a closer examination. Not really thinking about it, Naruto went along with the doctor's request.

"I heard that she was picked on a lot when she was little cuz of her eyes and family." Kiba explained. "I also heard that she wasn't treated so well at home either."

"I knew her in back then." Sasuke interjected. "She was a pretty shy girl, would hardly talk to anyone and would kind of just stand off to the side and try to draw as little attention as possible."

"I guess this is what happens when push comes to shove." Naruto mused. Whatever bullying that the girl must have gone through as a child but have been really terrible for her to apparently change personalities so drastically.

* * *

Having finally ran to the point she no longer could anymore, Hinata slammed her back against the nearest wall and slid all the way down to the floor. She was still panting heavily when her friends finally showed up, all shouting words of concern.

Not a single one of their words reached Hinata's ears however, as she was much too focused on remembering the feel of that boy's strong grip on her arm. And the feeling of his soft hand on her forehead. And the sound of her heart beat loudly in her ears. It was like her chest was in pain, but in a strange and fluttery way.

The last time she had touched a boy without it being a fist was back when she was a little girl, and even then it had been her stern and unforgiving father. Never before had any boy touched her in two separate fashions like that so quickly. Let alone actually touch her at all.

Even worse, the way he had held her there had forced Hinata to look at the boy's face for a lot longer than she ever had planed to. She was able to see every detail of that boy's face, from how hard his serious expression was, to the sudden shift into earnest concern.

Just remembering how his hard blue eyes almost instantly softened made Hinata's face bright up once again. Without thinking, the girl covered her red face with her hands to shield whatever embarrassing expression she was making from her friends.

"Just what did he do to you?!" Finally one of the girls' words reached Hinata's red ears. Said girl looked up at her surrounding friends, her face still beat red and a completely humiliating expression etched all over her pretty face.

"I-I..." She looked back down at her hands. "I don't know." The longer Hinata looked at her concerned friends faces, slowly, the angrier she started to become. This rich brat comes out of the blue, questions who she was and then does something strange to her? There was no way on heaven or Earth that she was just going to let that kid go without a serious beat-down.

She shook her head before jumping up to her feet, anger etched over her lovely face. "Whatever that guy did to me," She paused to re-think her words. "I'm going to make him tell me what trick he used on me. Then I'm going to beat him so bad that he will never remember how he did it as well as beat him a second time to teach him to never embarrass me like that again."

The other girls all cheered at their boss's returned fervor and quickly began to fill her in on what happened the moment she ran away. They also decided to tell her whatever other personal information they could about the boy to her, just in case she ever wanted to give him a good ass kicking when not in the middle of school.

She was going to make sure that Naruto knew exactly who she was.

* * *

Naruto and his friends were able to go back to class and finish the school day without any other hassle. They all received a good scolding from the teachers after their little trip to the infirmary. All three boys knew that it was only the start of their worries, as they still had to deal with their parents scolding them once they got home.

They thought they were prepared for it, but none of them were truly ready for the verbal beat down each of their respective parents had to offer them. Needless to say, that evening was not a very quiet one for any of them.

It was not until the next morning did Naruto's mom finally calm down a little. The amount of anger that woman produced after hearing that her son had been in a fight at school was enough to make Venom stay silent for the entirety of the night. Naruto was even able to garner a sympathetic look from his sister before she too quickly escaped lest her mother's wrath be turned to her.

The next morning was a very quiet one for the family. All were afraid that Kushina might still be upset about the whole affair. Everyone, including her beloved husband had to basically walk on eggshells before leaving at the first available opportunity.

The happy and calm demeanor the woman exude the whole morning did nothing to ease anyone's worries.

Naruto had to let out a breath he did not know he had been holding once he was safely outside of his home. He quickly met up with Kiba and Sasuke before all three started heading to the academy. There were only a few months left before graduation and both Sasuke and Kiba were more than ready to finally get out into the world and show just what they were capable of.

Of course Naruto, being in the civilian side of the academy, still had about a year or two of schooling left before his graduation. So while his friends already knew what they were going to do with their lives, he still had no real idea. But, he was had some time to figure that out.

The rest of the morning went about as normal. Lessons went by until lunch and the day continued without issue right after.

The same for the next few days.

Every day was as boring and normal as possible, for the next few weeks.

It was right in the middle of the last class of the day did that cycle finally break. And it could not have been in any more worse of a way.

Right in the middle of taking down notes, Naruto almost let out a cry of pain as his entire body was suddenly wracked with the worst hunger he had ever experienced.

He knew he had been slacking off his feedings since returning from his trip, but he had never been hit with such an intense hunger like this so far out of nowhere. He had not even felt the slightest tingle of needing to feed before this pain tore itself through him.

Naruto doubled over his desk and barely stopped himself from smacking his face right into his half-written notebook. He grit his teeth loudly as the saliva started to build up in his mouth. He had to stare hard at the paper in front of him lest he decide one of his classmates looked like a decent snack.

"Why is this happening now?" Naruto whispered through grit teeth. He hoped no one could hear him. Luckily, since he sat in the back of the class, so no one was able to see just what the kid was doing.

_**'Eating something good satisfies our hunger longer,' **_Venom explained. _**'But that also means that it comes back even worse than before.'**_

"I really wish you had told me that a lot sooner." Naruto tried to straighten his posture and act like nothing was bothering him. The large amount of sweat starting to drip down his face, however, told a completely different story.

He just needed to hold out for just a few more minutes. If he could, then he could find some stray cat or something and sate at least a small part of his hunger.

If only there was some way he could just find some terrible person to eat instead. To be honest, he knew a few people that were in desperate need of a good disemboweling, but he simply was not able to get to them without raising some unnecessary attention.

The rest of the class went by in a blur to the young man as all of his attention went to trying to restrain the urge to sink his teeth into the neck of the student sitting in front of him.

Naruto quickly packed his things and rushed out of the school in a stumbled daze. He needed to find food, and he needed to find some now!

He wandered around the village for any signs of something to chow down on, but nothing showed up. Not even the smallest songbird was willing to be anywhere near wherever Naruto was.

The boy's vision began to blur as he started to stumble about. Saliva began to drip uncontrollably down his chin and his face began to pale.

The more he continued onward, the more and more people around him began to appear more like cattle than actual humans. He could not afford to eat anyone here in his home town, but it appeared that he would not really have much of a choice in the matter.

He was about to just simply give in, when a small movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was the swish of a fluffy tail ducking away into one of the nearby streets.

Naruto only saw a potential meal and quickly hobbled over to it. Once on the street, Naruto caught sight of the same tail and what it belonged to; a large fluffy white cat. The small animal was walking along the top of a fence and was paying Naruto no mind at all.

Finally! A meal.

It would not be a lot, but it was at least something he could use to ease the pain. Without thinking, Naruto lunged for the creature only for it to jump down from the fence and bolt away as fast as it's little legs could carry it.

Naruto slammed into the fence and pushed himself away almost instantly before hobbling in the direction the cat had ran. He followed until a certain scent grabbed his immediate attention.

Instantly, the thought of the cat vanished form his mind as the scent invaded his nostrils and forced him to veer off into an unknown direction. The scent was one Naruto could not really describe beyond being almost bitter to the nose.

The more he inhaled the scent, the clearer Naruto's mind felt. His vision returned and even the hyper salivating he was doing had slowed down drastically. He had finally found something that he could eat, he just had to locate exactly where it was. And his nose was leading him right to it.

The boy eventually found himself in front of a closed shop; the sign above the display window clearly identifying it as some sort of bakery or sweets shop. There was a small sign on the door with an explanation for why the store was closed early as well as an apology for the inconvenience.

Naruto did not read either and was focused completely on the scent coming from within the store; his mouth dripping with a need to taste whatever was making that engrossing scent.

He had to get in!

If whatever the store held was enough that the scent was able to control his hunger even just a little bit, then there was no telling what actually eating it would do for him.

Without thinking, Naruto walked around to the back of the store and found the rear entrance with ease. Seeing that not a soul was around, he reached for the door handle to find it was unsurprisingly locked tight. Not a problem for the demon host as with a simple jerk of his hand, he broke the simple lock and had walked into the back room of the shop.

Naruto made his way through the small shop, following the scent as it grew stronger and stronger. He made his way to the main section of the shop and quickly spotted what had been making the delectable scent.

It was an entire wall of shelves lined with an enormous variety of chocolates. Ranging from cakes to candies with multiple different fillings, almost every kind of chocolate imaginable was present before our young protagonist.

Naruto stared at the wall of delicacies for just a moment before charging forward with both arms outstretched. The instant his hands touched something, his fingers would close around it and his hands would bring it up to shove it directly into his mouth.

The sudden explosion of flavor was almost as overwhelming as his previous meal and he could instantly feel the pains of hunger ebbing away. After swallowing a mouthful of the many chocolates, Naruto would reach out again and grab more. He did not care how or why this simple treat was able to sedate his need, but neither Naruto nor Venom were going to complain.

Hell, the monster was even making obscene sounds of approval as it's host shoved more and more of the delicious mess into his stomach. Not even the decorative wrappings containing the treats were safe from Naruto's hunger as he ate all he could.

The floor quickly became covered in discarded wrappings and saliva as Naruto's ravenous hunger drained the contents of the shelves. It was only when he could no longer find any more to grab onto did Naruto finally stop stuffing his face and take a breath.

That unbearable pain had finally been mitigated enough to be nothing more than a minor annoyance in the back of his mind. Looking at what was left on the shelves and the mess on the floor, it required more feeding than any previous meal had before. Not much was left on the shelves besides a few scant pieces that had slipped through Naruto's fingers.

_**'Much better.' **_Venom sighed happily. _**'Not as good as our last meal, but it should do for now. We need to find a way to sate our hunger much more readily now that you have tasted a true meal. This will only hold us for so long'**_

"I know, I know." Naruto grumbled as he wiped the mix of saliva and melted chocolate from his face using some paper towels he found behind the shop's front counter. Taking a peek outside, Naruto silently thanked whatever god was watching over him since it appeared that nobody had witnessed his ravenous actions.

He cleaned up his mess as best he could and even put as much money as he had to hopefully cover as much of sweets he had consumed as possible. The few bills and coins he did have were clearly not enough to cover everything unfortunately.

Naruto did his best to sneak back out the back and tried to make it look like the place had not been broken into. There wasn't any doubt that the owner was going to be upset whenever they returned. But hopefully the money he left would lessen the sting, at least a little bit.

At least he discovered something to sate his endless appetite with whenever something living was not around. Naruto was going to have to get a job to cover at least a portion of the cost of his new food, if how much he ate today was anything to go by.

Naruto checked around to make sure the coast was clear before easing his way back into the crowded streets and making his way back home. He could no longer hold in the sigh of relief he had been holding while inside that store.

It felt good to finally sedate his hunger without having to resort to killing. Sadly, Naruto knew that even with a job and his measly allowance his parents gave him, substituting living flesh for chocolate was not going to be cheap or easy.

Trying to stay on the positive side of things, Naruto tried to think of ways he could obtain a nearly constant supply of chocolate as he walked home. His dad did know a lot of important traders, so there was a chance he could weasel out a deal with someone if he dropped his father's name and tittle.

Before reaching his home, the sound of a small songbird reached Naruto's ears. A black tentacle shot out of his shoulder, snagging the flying animal and quickly brought to Naruto's open mouth. He shoved the struggling animal into his gaping maw and swallowed it in one massive bite.

He did all of that without a moment of thought. It was only when he had finally gotten up to his room and was in the middle of changing his clothes did Naruto realize that he, in fact, did end up eating another living thing once again.


	9. Chapter 9

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

"Naruto!" Kushina called up to her son's room. Her voice was always able to be heard very clearly no matter where anyone was in the house. "You have a visitor!" She turned to the person standing in the doorway. "I am very sorry, but it might be a moment before my son comes down." She smiled sweetly. "Would you care to come in for some tea?"

It was only after both she and their guest had finally sat down and were drinking did the familiar stomping of Naruto's heavy feet could be heard from the floor above. Kushina looked over to the stairway to see her son walking down with a look of confusion etched on his young face.

Said mother waited for her son to notice her and the guest and smiled a little when he finally did. Though, the expression he made was not the kind she had expected.

Instead of a smile, or some sort of positive expression. Naruto's face visibly paled to the point that Kushina was worried that the boy might actually pass out right on the floor.

All the while, young Hinata of the Hyuuga family just sat there in her chair sipping her tea with just the widest smile scrawled across her pretty lips. The only sign that the girl had even acknowledged Naruto's arrival on the floor was her eyes giving him a once over. She had not even bothered to turn her head.

Kushina looked from her son to their guest as a plethora of possibilities rushed through her red head. Finally, her motherly mind was able to start connecting the dots and a mischievous smirk made it's way across her lips.

"Well," She stood up and took patted down her skirt. "I'm afraid that I must leave you two for now." Naruto's bone-white face snapped to his mother's, his eyes pleading for her not to go. "My husband and I agreed to meet each other for lunch today." She quickly excused herself; leaving the two young adults by themselves.

"Wha-Wha," Naruo gulped to try and sooth his quickly dried out throat. "What are you doing here?"

For the past month, Hinata and her merry little band of hoodlums had spent every possible moment harassing poor Naruto. Doing things ranging from flinging insults in his direction, to trying to rough him up every day after school.

Not a single day went by without Hinata and one of her friends doing everything they could just to make Naruto's life just that much harder. It had gotten to the point where even Venom was starting to suggest just eating them all, despite knowing just how bad of an idea that really was.

Hinata did not respond to Naruto at first, content with finishing her drink and letting the poor boy stew in his terror. Once she had downed the last drop, Hinata put the tea cup down just as Kushina left the house entirely.

Once the sound of the front door closing reached the young Hyuuga's ears, she put her cup down gently on the small table in front of her and stood up. A wicked smirk formed on her pretty face as she turned to Naruto.

The second her eyes landed on the boy, however, whatever she had planned to ruin his life even more completely vanished from her mind. Her entire body froze on the spot and she could feel that familiar heat rising in her face.

This was the exact reason she always had brought at least one of her other friends with her whenever she wanted to torment the Hokage's son. Whatever power he had used on her had yet to dissipate and she still found herself being able to do much of anything without at least some support.

But, when she tried to recruit one of her friends to join her on this particular outing, all either declined or had something else planned for the day. Out of sheer frustration, Hinata come on her own, regardless of the knowledge she had about what would inevitably happen.

She hated this boy so damn much for this. Words could not describe how much she hated how her heart would speed up and her face would redden. Or how it became almost impossibly hard for her to talk whenever her eyes stared into his light blue orbs. Fuck! Even the sound of his raspy voice caused her knees to quiver.

And now, she was all alone with him and had no one to snap her out of this terrible trick Naruto clearly had placed on her. She had to respond quickly, or else he would come closer to her. And there was no telling what would happen if he touched her.

She hated all of this so much, and she had to focus all of her anger just to snap herself out of it enough to finally regain control over her suddenly, very dry mouth. But, she could not think of anything to say

Seeing that Hinata had frozen on the spot, had not said a word, and was now so red that he was afraid she might pass out; Naruto took a step forward. The color having returned to his young face and his expression of terror shifting to one of concern.

Several times during Hinata's harassment of Naruto would the boy notice her face get red or her simply not talk directly to him. He always assumed it was just her being too angry to talk to him for some reason or another. But a part of him also wondered if the girl was also just very sick and was just bullying him to put up a tough front in front of everyone.

A little odd for a student about to graduate into a full-fledged shinobi in a month, but that was also coming from the kid with a literal monster living inside him.

An idea suddenly came into Naruto's mind. What if she was here not to bully him this time, but ask for help? Maybe she had been trying to ask for his help all the while, but one of her friends would always tag along. Thus making her have to act super tough in front of them and bully Naruto instead of asking for the help she really needs.

Today must be the only day where she could finally be alone to ask for Naruto's help.

The thought of why the daughter of a very powerful shinobi clan would seek out just Naruto for help with a possible sickness he did not even really know about, never even came close to entering young Naruto's mind.

Never the less, Naruto could not sit by and let someone hurt without at least trying to do something about it.

His face softening to that look of concern was almost too much for Hinata to handle. They way his eyes held nothing but care for the well being of the girl they reflected. How his brow furrowed as his mind worked to find a solution to a problem he **must** know he caused.

By every possible deity, Hinata hated this!

"Hey," Naruto swallowed to hopefully sooth his dry throat. "Are you alright?" His voice was soft and dripping with such concern that Hinata could swear her heart speed up double time.

Naruto took a steady step forward. Making sure he moved as slow as possible to allow for Hinata to prepare for his approach. He had no real idea how the girl would react, and the last thing he wanted was a beating in his own home.

"Stay away from me!" Hinata shouted, suddenly finding her voice just as Naruto's foot touched the ground. She had to regain her composure quickly. She came her with a plan in mind and she needed to act on it. Now, if only she could remember what that plan was!

Naruto did just that, retracting his foot and even taking a single step back to put more distance between him and her. He held up both of his hands to show that he had no ill intent.

"Ok." He said calmly. "I'll stand right here and not move a step closer." He paused. "But please tell me why you are at my home."

Hinata, was once again quiet. She had to respond now! She had to say something. Anything! Fuck! What was her original plan?!

"I-I wanted to see what kind of dump a useless idiot like you lived in." Hinata was finally able to find her voice but was still unable to look Naruto in the eyes. She found it much easier to talk if she did not look at the boy directly.

"I was going to bring my friends along and make you our pack mule for the day. But they all flaked out on me." She huffed. That was a terrible excuse! She knew she originally came to Naruto's home to bully him in some fashion, but for the life of her she simply could not remember what it was. Now she was stuck with an excuse she had no idea how to back up.

Naruto did not believe her words for a minute. It was clear that she was suffering from some kind of illness. The lushness of her face, the way she pressed into herself and even the small amount of sweat he could see beading up upon her pale skin.

She needed help and Naruto would be damned if he was just going to let her get away now that he and her were finally all alone. He was going to help this girl whether she liked it or not.

"You need help." He finally stated, his eyes focused hard on her taller form. He did have to take a moment to remember that the girl was a portion taller than him, but he still retained his determination to help this clearly sick girl.

Hinata shot the boy a confused look. Just what did he mean by that? Was he making fun of her again? Had he already figured out that she was still under the control of whatever evil technique he had used over a month ago? He was going to use that as leverage against her. She knew it.

He may act like a kind and relatively normal person, but this just proved that he really was just a horrible manipulative bastard! It was only when he had control over someone as strong and feared as Hinata that he would finally get a chance to show his true colors. The fact that he pretended not to know who she was just to rile her up must have been all a part of his plan.

There was no way that the son of the Hokage would not know the feared daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan!

"I can tell." Naruto continued to speak in that cursed concerned tone of voice that made Hinata's legs grow weak.

Here was the part she was preparing for, the inevitable claim that he now had control over her. If that were to be the case, Hinata would fight him tooth and nail every step of the way. She was going to make his life a living nightmare for this!

"You are obviously very sick. Please," Naruto practically begged. "Let me help you."

Hinata's frantic brain came to such a sudden and grinding halt that you could almost hear the sound of every cell in her body reacting in confusion to the words she just heard.

"Wh-what?" Hinata practically whispered.

Seeing that the girl had heard him, Naruto could not help but give a big smile. "Yeah." He continued. "I figured it out. You're really sick, but have to put up this big tough girl front in front of everyone so that nobody will worry about you. I was told you started being like this after being bullied for so long, so I can get not wanting to look weak again."

Naruto was very proud of himself for understanding everything without anyone having to point anything out to him.

"What?" Hinata had to repeat herself. She just could not comprehend what this brain-dead moron was saying.

"It was right when I grabbed you about a month ago." Naruto explained, still with a pleased tone in his voice. "I noticed how hot your face was. And you looked like you were about to pass out." He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded his head. "I just figured that you've been picking on me so much as a way of asking for my help. Since I am the Hokage's son after all, I should be able to help with whatever sickness is hurting you."

Hinata's head had slowly been tilting to the side as every word of nonsense Naruto spoke entered her young mind. This boy was a complete and total moron and this was the final nail in the coffin of any doubt of there being a single shred of intelligence in his handsome head.

Nearly everything she had thought about the boy had been completely thrown out the window. He wasn't some crazy maniac trying to control her with a special power or anything like that. He couldn't if he was really as stupid as he now appeared to be.

Hinata allowed a pulse of chakra to enter her eyes and activate her families all-seeing eyes. It was always jarring to see Naruto through those eyes. His lack of a functioning chakra system always made him appear almost ghost-like to her vision. Even without focusing on that, Hinata could not see any of the usual signs of Naruto lying. Either eternally, or externally.

Not a single sign of muscle tension, heart rate increase, or even the smallest bit of adrenal activity could be seen by the Hyuuga's all-powerful eye. Naruto honestly believed the words that spouted out from his idiotic mouth.

Hinata did not know if she should laugh or cry. All this time she had been afraid that this boy was going to force her into a life of disgusting servitude. When really he had no better of an idea behind her strange behavior as she did.

"So please." Naruto continued. "Please let me help you."

Hinata risked a look into his eyes once again. This turned out to be a big mistake, as Hinata instantly returned to her previously flustered state. At the same time, she started to get very angry again.

Her eyes focused hard on the boy as her blood began to boil. She opened her mouth to finally let loose a hard stream of swears when she noticed a short blond girl in the doorway staring at the two and froze instantly.

The girl had a cookie in one hand and a book in the other and had clearly come down for a snack.

Hinata's already red face grew even darker to the point that one would not be mistaken in thinking every last drop of her blood had traveled to her head.

The girl looked at Hinata, then to Naruto before taking a bite out of her treat and looking back at the older girl.

Naruto noticed that Hinata was looking at something behind him and noticed his little sister. Just like Hinata, he stared for a moment as his brain slowly came to the realization of what his little sister might assume who the other girl in his house may be.

"Are you my big brother's girlfriend or something?" The girl asked in a bored tone, causing both of the older people in the room to suddenly become very flush with embarrassment

Before either of the older two could answer, there was a knock at the door.

"I-I'll get it!" Naruto practically shouted before he ran past his sister to see who had, thankfully, interrupted such an awkward situation.

While Naruto was getting the door, however, both of the girls stared at each other.

The younger blond-haired girl looked Hinata up and down before taking a bite of her treat again. Her eyes focused hard on every detail of Hinata's figure as she mentally compared her to every other woman she knew.

"You're pretty." She looked at the Hyuuga in the eyes. "I'm Kyouku." She gave a short bow. "I hope you can take good care of my brother."

Hinata honestly had no idea how to respond.

Well, she did; but cursing out a little girl might be pushing it a little further than she really wanted things to go.

No sooner had Hinata finally thought up of a reply did Naruto come rounding the corner.

"There is someone here for you?" His voice held a lot of confusion and hesitation. His face did as well. He looked just about as confused as the female Hyuuga herself.

Is if sensing the confusion, a tall Hyuuga male with the most cold stare humanly possible appeared behind Naruto. The young man's expression did not change upon seeing Hinata, and in fact, might have even gotten that much colder.

The man wore the usual shinobi attire of his family. As in, basic black shorts and light tan shirt. Not a part of him was flashy, and the way he held himself told everyone that he did not need to be. The only thing really unique about him that one would have to notice to set him apart from the rest of his family, was his surprisingly long hair.

"Hinata." His voice was just as cold as his eyes. "Your father has requested that you return home. He wishes to discuss your upcoming graduation." He turned away. "I am to escort you home."

Hinata's brow furrowed as annoyance stretched itself across her princess-like face. She hated talking to her father any more than was necessary and even more so recently since the old man has been obsessing over Hinata's graduation into a full-fledged shinobi.

It had mostly been lectures about how to act properly since she will be representing the Hyuuga family outside of the village. Of course, she ignored his annoying words and was going to keep acting however she damn well pleased.

"And Naruto." The male Hyuuga said as Hinata finally began to follow him. "Your father also requested your presence in his office."

"How...?" Naruto was about to ask the obvious question when the shinobi interrupted.

"Both were at the office when I was given my orders." He actually sounded annoyed at having to explain something seemingly so simple.

Without another word, both Hyuuga left Naruto and his little sister alone in their home. Naruto stared at the door for a moment before looking at his little sister, who had gone back to reading her book.

"Did you lie about your name again?"

* * *

"You needed to see me, dad?" Naruto asked as he entered the Hokage's office. He noted that not only was his mother present, but also several of the village's council members and the shinobi that had been his guard on his most recent outing.

Naruto closed the door behind him slowly. The instant the door clicked, two more shinobi appeared to quickly block the way out of the office.

_**'I don't like this.' **_Venom grumbled. _**'We may need to do some unsavory things to get out of this.'**_

"Um, what's going?" Naruto asked as he walked to the center of the room. Being surrounded by some of the strongest ninja the village had put the boy on edge.

Minato looked tired. Even more tired than he regularly did. Everything about him, from his facial expression to the state of his clothes said that he really id not want to be here right now or deal with what was about to happen.

"Please," The Hokage motioned to the basic wooden chair located in the dead center of the room. "Sit down, Naruto."

The boy did as he was told, very hesitantly.

Minato looked down at his desk for a moment before sighing heavily and looking his son dead in the eyes. He had been putting this off for as long as he could, but the combination of the mission reports and some more recent evidence, he had to do this now.

"Now, I want you to tell my why you think you are here." Minato's voice had changed from that of the worried father, to that of the village leader. He was not talking to his son any longer, but a citizen of his home. He hated doing this more than anything else he had ever experienced in the past.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and tried to put on as much of an innocent and confused face as possible. Sadly, it was a very poor attempt when against a room of the some of the most experienced shinobi the village had to offer. He was obviously uncomfortable and almost every single movement he made showed it.

"I honestly haven't a clue." Naruto responded in as truthful of a tone of voice as possible. The fact that one of his past guards was standing right beside his father did not ease the boy's worry.

"Naruto." Minato sighed heavily. "Please, if you just tell me what happened; what's going on, this will all be over that much sooner."

_**'I doubt that severely.' **_Venom grumbled as he too began to wonder what was going to happen. This was not going to end well no matter how it and it's host handled the situation.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto tried to keep his voice calm. The longer he felt all of those eyes on him, the more nervous he got. It was obvious what his father was talking about, but Naruto hoped beyond all hope that this was about something else entirely.

Minato looked over at his wife. Her eyes drifted back to his and closed with a solemn expression. He slowly pushed his chair away from his desk before just as slowly getting to his feet. His tired eyes looked at every face present before he walked around to the front of his desk.

He had draped his Hokage's robes around him like a cloak. A kind of barrier that the village leaders would make to distance themselves emotionally from whomever they chose. Useful when having to make a hard decision.

He slowly walked towards the seated Naruto; his movements were so steady to make it appear as if he was gliding across the floor. He stopped right in front of his son and looked down at him.

"Please." His voice was practically a whisper. "Just tell me what you did." His composure finally broke as the village leader began to shake slightly. This was his son, damn it! This was the kind boy that went to school every day and hung out with friends. This was the boy that did not use his disability to gain pity or favor. He never used his father's status to gain whatever he wanted or abuse those that may have wronged.

Naruto was a good kid.

There was no way he could have done what was written in the mission report. At least, no voluntarily. If he would at least admit to being forced to comment such an act; at least then things could go well.

Naruto put on a confused smile. "I am telling you dad; I have no clue what you are talking about." He refused to admit anything. He could not risk loosing Venom. Despite his concerns about the creature, the power it gave him as necessary in keeping his family, friends, and village safe. He just had no idea how to convince his father now that he had committed to lying so defiantly.

Minato closed his eyes for a moment before opening his robe and pulling out a manila folder labeled with the dates of Naruto's time away from the village. He opened the folder and could see Naruto's face visibly pale. No matter how much both father and son wished this entire ordeal could be avoided; it would only be a matter of time before someone else would find out and things get even worse.

"You know what this is." Minato stated. "And you know what is in it."

"Y-Yes father." Naruto finally let the defeat wash over him. No matter what he did, this was going to happen. It was not like he knew he could keep his demon a secret forever, but it was nice at least pretending to be normal for as long as he could.

"He admits it." A familiar voice announced from one of the walls. Naruto's eyes widened in instant rage as his head snapped in the direction of the speaker. Non-other than Uchiha Fugaku had decided to take a step forward and speak out.

Minato looked up at the man. His own distrust showing through his eyes. Him deciding to speak up could potentially make this go as badly as possible.

"I told you what your son did to me, Minato." Fugaku continued. "I told you what he said. And now you have evidence that something is not normal about your son." The Uchiha leader looked around at his fellow council members. "I propose that the boy be restrained until we know exactly what is going on and he is no longer deemed a threat to this village."

"Be silent Fugaku!" Minato ordered. The Uchiha had a terrible habit of forgetting just who the real leader of this village was, as well as exactly why Minato was given the position.

"Yes." An elder of the civilian portion of the council butted in. "We should hear from the boy exactly why he did what he did." The elder turned to look at the leader of the Yamanaka family, Inoichi. "Even so, he must be at least mentally disturbed to want to eat another human."

"They think I'm some kind of monster." Naruto whispered as more and more of the people in the room began to mumble and talk among one another.

_**'No.' **_Venom whispered in Naruto's ear. _**'Listen to their words. They are speaking out of concern, not fear. They know not what we are, but they know what we have done.' **_The monster's words were soft and gentle to it's host. _**'They will treat us like a sick patient, not a dangerous creature. You will not need to fear us separating.'**_

Paying more attention to what the adults were talking saying revealed Venom's words to be true. They were speaking as if Naruto was just a very sick person instead of a crazy criminal. While this was still not the best outcome Naruto could have hoped for, it was better than them out right thinking him a demon.

Though, the fact that he was going to loose his friends was still heartbreaking since the boy seriously doubted that no one would say anything outside of this room.

_**'They did not see our fangs and blades.' **_Venom continued. _**'They will treat you as a human, not a demon.'**_

This continued on for a few minutes. Naruto's father put a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Please do not fight me." He practically begged. "We just want to to help you. You are clearly sick and need help. Killing and eating someone is not a normal thing."

Naruto looked up at his father's desperate face and could not help but feel guilty for lying to the man. But, knowing that it was all for the good of the village made it worth it all in the end.

"Is no one understanding what is really going on!?" Fugaku finally shouted in rage. No body was connecting the dots between the boy's violent actions and the threat that he had made towards the powerful family. This boy was clearly a threat and should be treated as such. Treating a known monster as just some sick person was nothing more than pure foolishness.

"This boy has threatened me and my family." Fugaku's voice lowered upon noticing he had the room's attention once again. "Even if you ignore the fact that he **killed **and **ate **a human alive. You can not pretend that a citizen of this village directly threatening the life of a council member and clan leader is nothing to be concerned about."

Now the chatting had shifted somewhat. Now some were starting to see reason with Fugaku. If this boy was not only capable of eating a human alive and bold enough to actually threaten one of the most powerful clans in the village, let alone the actual clan leader, then who could say what else he was capable of.

Naruto was starting to get angry. He had warned Fugaku about messing with him and his family. And now he was blatantly trying to separate them and put the boy in a cage.

Maybe he needed to teach the Uchiha another lesson?

"Again." That man's voice really was starting to grate on Naruto's nerves. "I propose that we lock the boy up until when know exactly what is wrong with him and he can be properly dealt with."

"And what?" Minato took a step towards the Uchiha leader. "Do you mean by that?"

Fugaku did not back down, and in fact took a step forward as a clear challenge to the Hokage. "What I am saying, _Minato. _Is that if your boy is too dangerous to be left alive, then we would have no other choice than to kill him."

Both Minato and Kushina were livid at the man even suggesting that their son be murdered. And both were more than ready to beat some sense into the man. The only thing stopping the pair was the possible reciprocation of their actions. It would not do any good if Minato lost his seat due to a sudden outburst, no matter how justified it might be.

"Watch yourself Uchiha." Naruto suddenly decided to speak clearly. He refused to look in the same direction as the man. He was afraid what his rage may do.

_**'Why must these people always ruin good things?'**_

Being surrounded by so many of his peers boosted Fugaku's confidence. Or was that arrogance?

"What did you say to me, boy?" He looked right past Minato. "You may have threatened me when we were alone, but such insolence will not stand in the presence of this village council!"

"I told you that it was not a threat." Naruto slowly rose to his feet. With his back still facing the Uchiha, Naruto continued. "It was a promise."

The man could only scowl as he flinched just the slightest amount from the tone of the boy's voice.

Naruto finally turned to gaze at the older man. "I will give you one last chance to stop interfering with me and my family, old man."

"Naruto," Kushina finally could no longer stand aside. The mother rushed over to her child and pulled him towards her with a hand on the boy's shoulder. He ignored her completely.

_**'Stay calm. We do not want to reveal ourselves just yet.'**_

"You insolent little brat!" Fugaku would not stand for such humiliation in front of his peers. "I do not care who you're father is. If you keep talking to me like that I will assure you that you will meet a more than fitting punishment."

"And just what kind of punishment would that be?" Naruto challenged. "You already threatened my life." He wanted the man to say it now. He just wanted the smallest excuse to cut the man down here and now.

Unfortunately, Fugaku had enough since to not respond to the kid's egging on and instead just sneered at the boy as Kushina pulled her son away and out of the room.

It goes without saying that there was a very long talk between Naruto and his parents. He played his role of the broken child quiet well and his parents believed that there son was just disturbed and nothing else.

What followed were weeks of family talks, therapy, and strange looks. Naruto rarely went to school for the next month and spent most of his time in varies forms of therapy.

Early, it was unanimously agreed that the trauma Naruto had suffered at such a young age; practically having his skull caved in from a massive drop, was playing a major part in the boy's mental state.

Venom was sure to mess around with the boy's brain whenever one of the village's mind readers wanted to take a dive inside. It clearly did not allow them to see too much, but just enough to justify Naruto's actions as a part of serious brain trauma instead of demon possession.

Oh there was going to be a lot to correct once Venom made itself known. But that was further down the road than it was willing to bother with at the moment.

One of the few, if only positives Naruto could see from being an official outcast was; due to him being labeled as a dangerous cannibal, he was no longer getting picked on by Hinata and her little gang.

Actually, there was one other benefit. To help 'curb his inhuman hunger' most the the therapists Naruto saw requested that Naruto's parents provide the boy with whatever food possible to distract from his want to eat human flesh.

This meant Naruto was given as much chocolate as he could possibly ever want. His entire perspective on this situation changed completely when he saw the mountain of sweets just being to be eaten.

He even went so far as to act as ravenous as possible when eating, just to home in the mental instability his family and everyone else thought he had. It at least meant that he would not have to try and sneak away to hunt again, for at least a little while. Venom was not particularly happy about it and had developed a habit of complaining of boredom.

Something that might actually drive Naruto insane.

Naruto was allowed to attend his friend's graduation into becoming full fledged shinobi; albeit with a few guards positioned around him for everyone's protection, and him standing in as far back and away from everyone else as possible.

He did not even get the chance to personally congratulate his friends. Naruto was sure to raise a big fuss over that in particular, but in the end, there really was not anything he could do.

And this is what became of Naruto's life. Constant therapy, high chocolate diet and a combination of home schooling and actually attending classes when allowed.

After several months of this, Naruto was starting to really get tired of all of the protection and special treatment. It was very tempting to just let his parents know about Venom, but the chance that they would both be very furious, as well as try to separate the two was still not a risk Naruto was willing to make.

He had not had a chance to even speak to his friends and was in some desperate need of some peace and relaxation.

He would finally get a break from his strange life-style when he overheard his parents talking about the upcoming Chunin Exams and the many challenges that awaited the new ninja.

Or, at least that was what he was hoping for.


	10. Chapter 10

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

The days went on and every passing moment was one closer to the grand finale of the Chunin Exams. And the village showed it.

Stalls were either cleaning up or being completely rebuilt and restocked with the most quality products that the village could afford. A huge event like this was always good for the businesses of the village, so any time there was a chance to increase sails, they took it.

Sadly, Naruto was not able to appropriately appreciate all of the chaos since the moment he would step out of his home he was surrounded by guards. And every time he would try to sneak away to the more public areas he would instantly be herded back to less populated streets.

Naruto was excited the very moment his eyes opened one morning. It was finally time for the Chunin Exams and his entire family was going to be present for the entire thing.

Well, to be exact, it was really the last part of the Exams. The Chunin Exams were split into three different sections, with the first two being based on the participants pure skill in being ninja. The final test was an all out display of combat prowess.

The village took advantage of this part of the test and would use it as an excuse to invite dignitaries and the wealthy from all over just to see the potential of future soldiers. It was probably one of the best money makers for most of the shops and businesses around the village.

Naruto had learned from his father that the first portion of this year's exam was an actual written exam. He was very pleased with the fact he was not becoming a shinobi after hearing about that. Normal school tests were hard enough, he could not imagine the level of difficulty that a written test made specifically for shinobi would be.

The second part of the Exam was a sort of survival test within one of the many dangerous training grounds that surrounded the village. It was hard enough for Naruto to rough it during his trip to Sunagakure and back. There was no telling what dangers the young shinobi faced while within that training area.

What was just as if not more exciting, was that Naruto's mother, Kushina, was about due for her next child at any moment. Minato tried to persuade his wife to not go to the exam demonstration, but she refused and there was no way that he was going to be able to change his wife's mind once it was set.

She was going to go, and if she was going to have the baby there, then that was exactly what was going to happen.

A few days before the major event, Naruto was shown one of the brochures that were going to be handed out to all attendees. It had the usual ads and what-not that were expected, but it also had who was competing and who against.

Naruto was pleased to see Sasuke in the matches, but he could not find Kiba's name anywhere. He knew the dog-boy was going to be a sulking mess for the next few weeks at the very least. From the brochure, Naruto could see that Sasuke was planned to be in the second fight of the day.

This would be the first time in a long time that Naruto would be allowed to be around people and not be surrounded by guards. He was too excited for it and did not sleep well for the next few days before the big event.

"Naruto!" Kushina called from the bottom of the stairs. "Get up and get ready or we'll be late." Even on days when her son was excited he would take his sweet time.

"Mom," Her son's voice suddenly came from behind. "You don't need to yell, I'm right here."

Kushina nearly jumped out of her skin. She still, to this day, had no idea how her son was able to sneak up on her and her husband without either of them knowing he was close. They simply chalked it up to him lacking any chakra that could be detected.

Kushina placed a hand on her stomach and chest. "I swear, you keep doing that and the baby will be born right now." She turned and gave her son a look. "And I don't really think you want to witness how you were born."

"I'd rather not." Naruto replied bluntly. He loved his mother, but not enough to witness something like that.

"Well, your father and sister went on ahead while you were messing about. And I, being the ever-so loving mother I am, decided to wait for you so that we could go together and you wouldn't need any bodyguards."

Naruto rolled his eyes before shoving the last of the chocolate he had been carrying into his mouth. "I told you, I no longer feel like I need to do that any more."

"And we told you that things like that do not suddenly disappear that quickly." Kushina put her hands on her hips and glared down at her son.

It was fruitless to argue any further, so Naruto did not and just followed his mother who was walking out the front door.

The day was sunny and warm; perfect weather to watch some young shinobi test their combative skills for a roaring crowd and high paying officials.

As they traveled, Naruto received looks. Looks of pity or disgust mostly, with hints of concern or fear sprinkled in every now and then. It was vastly different from the regular looks he would receive from the population. Word of his cannibalistic desire spread like wildfire through the village grapevine and; just like everything else, it was blown way out of proportion.

He did all he could to ignore the eyes constantly burrowing into him, but it was difficult knowing that he could do nothing about it.

After a brief walk, the mother and son duo arrived at the large arena where the event was to be held. The cacophony of voices coming from it already told the size of the crowd occupying the building, and there were still more piling in.

The two were quickly greeted by the staff of the building and ushered to where they were to sit and observe the fights; right on top of the structure with a clear view of everything. Minato and the constantly-name-changing little sister of Naruto's were already seated and waiting.

Naruto helped his mother up the stairs like the good son he was. Eventually the two made it to the top of the structure and could see where they were to sit. Kinda of hard to miss being the only thing on the roof was a stone wall lined with thrones.

Minato and Naruto's sister were seated next to each other with the Hokage sitting right next to a man wearing the attire of the Kazekage. This caused Naruto to pause mid-step.

The man had everything but his eyes covered, and those eyes did not belong to the man Naruto knew. The very air around this fake Kazekage reeked of something Naruto could not quiet put his finger on.

_**'This man does not smell right.' **_Venom hissed. _**'We smell rot.'**_

Decay was terrible. It ruined meals and made everything bitter. Naruto had fed on rotten flesh before and detested every minute of it, despite it being a necessity at times. This man reeked like a corpse that had been left out in the sun for weeks.

Minato quickly spotted the rest of his family and stood up. "Please, please, have a seat."

And so they did.

The family sat to once side of Minato while his guest sat on the other. The two village leaders talked to one another while the family focused their attention elsewhere.

Or, at least Naruto tried. The feeling that the false Kazekage gave off made the boy anxious and nearly every movement he saw out of the corner of his eye made him jumpy.

After a short while of waiting, a shinobi walked out to the center of the giant arena. He gave the Hokage a look and Minato stood from his seat and stepped forward before giving a lengthy speech about the shinobi that would be fighting today, bonds between combatants and other villages, and a few other things that were patriotic.

After his speech, Naruto's father sat back down and the first two combatants made their way onto the field. A young man of the Nara family, and a tall blond girl with four pigtails and a massive fan.

Naruto lend forward a bit as his was not sure his eyes saw correctly. But they did. It was none other than Temari standing on the battlefield. Naruto quickly grabbed the brochure he was given and looked at the names of the scheduled combatants. And there, plane as day, was Temari's name.

Naruto looked back down at the arena. He had missed watching her fight back in her home town. He was not going to miss the opportunity to see what that giant fan of hers was all about.

Temari took her eyes off her opponent for just a moment to look up at her father and quickly noticed Naruto, staring right down at her. Seeing this, admittedly okay looking, boy so focused on her caused a slight tint of red to appear on her sun-kissed cheeks. She had an audience and a father to impress, she was not about to let some tired-looking boy beat her down.

The fight began and Temari instantly went with a powerful wave of her giant fan, sending a massive gust of wind strong enough to take the Nara-boy off his feet and send him falling back.

Naruto's eyes were fixated on the fight below as it progressed. He had seen shinobi train more times than he could count, but he had never seen two fight with the determination to win at all costs. It was a sight he wanted to memories every detail of.

Temair did everything she could to keep her opponent a safe distance away from her. Using a variety of wind-based techniques as well as using a few smaller fans for more precise attacks.

Her opponent appeared to not really be giving the entire fight his all. His every movement was well calculated, but his bored expression and the obvious lack of force in his attacks showed that he either was not taking the fight seriously, or just did not care about it at all.

This clearly frustrated Temari as she was taking the fight as seriously as possible and yet was still not able to land anything sustainable upon her opponent. It was almost like the boy knew exactly how to either counter every attack, or at the very least, minimize the amount of damage he would take.

Naruto wanted to cheer for the girl, being he actually knew her and not the boy. But, he knew that being the son of the village leader, he had to uphold a sense of decorum and unbiasedness when it came to events such as this.

After a while, Temari started to tire. She had used so much of her chakra, and while she herself had not taken any damage, she had grown very tired very quickly. Her opponent did not appear to be any worse for wear. He had a then sheen of sweat on his brow and a few cuts from Temari's attacks, but the boy was showing no signs of fatigue.

Temari sneered and was about to put everything she had into one more massive swing of her gigantic fan, only to stop when the boy raised both of his hands.

"I quit." He said plainly. He straightened his back and gave a groan as he rotated his shoulders. "This is all too much for me."

Temari was so shocked with the boy's sudden proclamation, that she actually dropped her fan. "What?"

The boy looked over to the girl with a bored expression. "Yeah," He decided to continue. "This is all too much trouble. Promotion would just mean more missions and less time for me to do other stuff. It's just not worth my time. Becoming Chunin would be such a drag."

The shinobi from the desert glanced over the the exam proctor with a confused eye. His look was almost identical to hers.

The proctor then looked up at the Hokage, still as confused as ever. Minato did not act as if he had noticed for a moment before giving a single nod. The proctor gave a shrug before raising one of his arms high into the air and claiming Temari as the victor of the fight.

The crowd was not particularly happy about how the fight had gone. They had come to watch spectacular fights and amazing displays of shinobi skill and technique. They did not want to see someone quit after a few minutes of strong winds and haphazard weapon throws.

The two shinobi left the arena as the exam proctor stepped forward to announce the next two competitors.

"Strange shinobi you have." The false Kazekage bemused. Even the voice was not right. Whoever was trying to imitate the man either had never met him before, or was aware that Minato had not. Either way, Naruto was on top of his guard.

Something was going to happen today. He just did not know what or when.

It was to be a male member of the insect using Aburame family against another shinobi from the land of sand.

The moment that the announcement was made, the sand shinobi instantly shot his hand into the air and declared that he forfeit the entire fight. The crowd quickly erupted into a roar of angry shouts and demands.

The cacophony of dissatisfaction grew louder when it was declared that one of the participants of the next fight still had not shown up. To, hopefully, calm the angry crowd, the proctor stated that they will wait a few minutes for the competitor to arrive before declaring an automatic winner.

That was enough to calm the crowd down for a short while. Once again, basic chatter filled the arena with nothing really being said.

Naruto wanted to go down and speak with Temari. He was amazed at her ability to control the wind created by her fans and really wanted to know how she did it as well as show him more.

There was no telling what other amazing techniques she knew!

After a few more minutes of waiting, the crowd began to get rowdy again. The exam proctor looked back up to his village leader, who gave just another nod.

The man turned his attention back to the crowd and announced that they were going to proceed to the next fight while waiting for the arrival of the other shinobi.

The crowd's jeering quickly changed when the next two shinobi that were to fight was announced. Hinata Hyuuga and a male Hyuuga that went by the name of Neji.

Both arrived at the center of the large arena with obviously dissatisfied expressions written on both of their faces. Hinata's was a lot more of a scowl while Neji appeared to look more like superior dissatisfaction.

The two stared hard at each other. Not a word was said, but plenty was understood.

Neji slowly got down into his family's famous fighting stance. "I will not go easy on you, Lady Hinata." His voice was cold and harsh. It was clear that he intended for this fight to be more than just a competition.

"I'll break every bone in your body if the thought ever crosses your mind." Hinata replied, a lot more heated than the boy. She too got down into the Hyuuga family fighting stance. Except her stance was not as low to the ground as Neji's.

The proctor shouted for the two to begin, but neither moved. The two family members stood stock still and continued to glare into the other's eyes. A conversation that only they were privy to going on behind those pale, ghostly orbs.

Both of their eyes narrowed as the veins around them began to bulge out. The very air surrounding the arena felt still and icy cold despite the warmth that existed everywhere else.

So fast that the eye could not see, the two shinobi slammed into each other with such force that a small explosion of chakra that rocked the entire arena. Both shinobi struck at each other with a variety of open palm strikes and swift leg sweeps. Both dodging just as much as the hits they landed.

Each powerful strike was punctuated by a small explosion of chakra appearing behind the pair as they slowly moved around the arena. No matter the number of hits one landed on the other, there was not a single sign of visible damage on the two.

It was only when Neji noticed an opening did he jab forward with his index and ring finger extended outward. With the way she was moving, he was positive that the strike would exactly where he hoped.

Hinata saw the attacked coming and decided to follow through with her body's current motion. But exaggerated it enough that instead of a smooth readjustment of her position, Hinata practically flopped onto the ground.

Neji followed through with his attack, not suspecting the sudden motion and was left right open for a counter from his relative. Which Hinata was all too happy to deliver by placing both of her palms behind her head, tucking her legs in, leaning back, and pushing off the ground while greatly extending her entire body.

The balls of both of her feet smashed into young man's jaw with enough force to send him sailing through the air. He landed on his back and found the taste of iron coat his tongue.

Anger welled up inside the young Hyuuga. The supposed princess of his entire family just attacked him with such a barbaric attack. Worse yet, it had actually landed and injured the best young combatant of the generation. There was no way he was going to stand for this insult upon the Hyuuga name.

He did not have time to come up with any other reasons to be angry, as Hinata was upon him with a chakra-infused palm aimed straight for his prone gut. Neji was forced to roll out of the way before the strike could land. Thankfully he did as the cracked ground around where Hinata's palm landed showed that he would probably no longer be a shinobi if it had landed.

He had to quickly get to his feet and go instantly on the defensive as Hinata began an unrelenting barrage of palm strike with the occasional straight on punch to mix things up a little.

There was no opportunity for Neji to counter any of the incoming hits. He either had to block or redirect them, or else risk a blow that he knew would put him out of commission.

The woman did not show any signs of slowing down.

Neji had to be patient. He could not allow his anger to get the better of him and risk loosing the fight, he just needed to wait. Eventually, his opponent will make a mistake and he will be able to capitalize on it.

And this time, she won't see it coming.

Or, at least that was the plan. Unfortunately, Hinata's hard hitting attacks were beginning to take a toll on the young man's defenses. He needed to make an offensive strike soon or else be defeated through sheer exhaustion.

But there was simply no opening for him to strike through.

Out of sheer frustration, Neji decided to make one. He threw both of his arms forward, catching and forcing Hinata's apart before pulling his arms back, gathering chakra, and thrusting them both forward with all the force he could.

Both of his palms slammed into Hinata's chest. A massive explosion of chakra appeared behind the girl as she slowly doubled over in pain. She grit her teeth as hard as she could but could not hold back coughing out a mouthful of blood. Hinata stumbled back holding onto her chest in pain.

Neji could not hide the superior smirk that crawled it's way onto his face. He knew what he had done and he hoped that it would drive the message home; that Hinata's brash attitude and refusal to stick to the norms of the family were beneath everyone.

He hated that the supposed leader-to-be of the Hyuuga family was nothing more than a delinquent that had no understanding of what her position would entail. Her fighting style was a disgusting insult upon the traditions of the family, as was her attitude to the elders.

Hinata had no right to lead the family and Neji hoped beyond hope that his uncle, Hinata's father, would choose his other daughter, Hinata's little sister, to be the true heir.

Especially since from the way Hinata reacted to just that one hit, that it appeared she could dish out damage while not being able to take a single hit herself.

Hinata suddenly snapped her head up and glared viciously at her cousin. The boy had made an actual attempt at her life. If she had not applied a boat-load of chakra to her chest right before his attack had landed, her heart would have been nothing more than bloody paste right now.

With a snarl, the girl lunged forward, catching Neji off guard. He threw up his hands to defend himself only to ave Hinata grab one of his wrists and yank him forward. She pulled back her other fist as far as possible before letting it fly.

She struck home and slammed her balled up fist against the center of Neji's face with a sickening crack. Whatever part of the boy's jaw had not been broken from her previous kick, was now nothing more than useless bone. Same for the boy's nose.

Neji flew back once again and smashed into the ground hard. The pain in his face preventing him from doing much more than hold his broken nose.

Hinata walked over to her pained relative and glared down at him before turning around in a huff.

Her cousin always looked down on her. Even when they were small children, all he did was glare at her and go all out when even doing the simplest of spars. It was like he wanted to prove that she was not fit to lead.

Sure, she knew she had a temper and could let her anger get the better of her a time or too. Sure, she liked to cause trouble. Sure, she was not completely dedicated to the family's fighting style. But she had grown to see her own self worth a long time ago, and she would be damned if anyone was going to try and 'put her in her place'.

She shot a look at the proctor who quickly raised a hand and declared Hinata the winner of the fight. She left the arena without saying a word or even acknowledging the crowd.

Naruto, having watched every moment, was thankful that the girl had never let out that much strength against him. Women were scary. If she was really made the times she bullied him, then Naruto was sure he would be in the hospital constantly, even with Venom healing him up.

The crowd cheered and were pleased with the fight, even though it too was a bit shorter than they would have wanted. It was rare enough to see the Hyuuga fighting style, and even more so to see two opponents using it against one another.

Now there was no other choice than for the crowd to wait for the final challenger to finally make an appearance. The audience once again went back to idle chatter.

"Seems like your shinobi don't exactly understand punctuality." The supposed Kazekage muttered.

Minato took the words in stride and gave a chuckle of his own in return. "Some become a little too dedicated to perfection and train a bit longer than they should. A problem, I know, but it helps motivated the younger generation."

"Hopefully, this lack of punctuality does not cause any real issues for your village."

"None what so ever." There was nothing anyone could say that Minato would not be able to counter. At least when it came to the home he loved so dearly. He glanced over to his family and smiled as they all appeared to be at least tolerating the fights as well as the strange public seating.

It was clear the Kushina was not comfortable with where she was and had been doing all she could to try and make her obviously pregnant belly a little less obvious as possible.

His son and daughter did not appear to be as bothered by it, thankfully.

Minutes passed by and the audience once again began to voice their displeasure. Yet, at the same time, knowing that it was going to be a fight involving one of the Uchiha. A large number of the audience had hoped that the fight would have been between one of the Hyuuga and the Uchiha considering the famous rivalry between the two families.

If the next match ever gets underway, then there may be a chance such a wish could be granted.

After almost a full twenty minutes of waiting, the proctor glanced up to the crowd was once again starting to get rowdy and it was nearing a point where either Sasuke would have to show up immediately or forfeit the match simply due to not showing up.

Minato gave a heavy sigh. He really hoped that the youth would make an appearance soon. The displeasure the visiting dignitaries would have about being denied a fight involving the famous Uchiha family would be something he just did not want to deal with.

Business would decrease drastically around the entire village. There would be less shinobi contracts. Overall, just a lot of unnecessary issues would arise just because some kid was late to an event.

He gripped the arms of his chair tightly before slowly raising to make the disappointing announcement.

"Maybe we should wait just a little longer?" The Kazekage asked. "We don't want to disappoint everyone." He said it as if Minato had not been worried about that the entire time he had been there. "I'm sure that the people will be willing to wait and see what power the new generation of Uchiha have to offer."

The instant those words left the man's mouth did a small swirl of leaves and smoke suddenly appear in the center of the large arena.

The smoke and leaves quickly cleared away to reveal Sasuke standing tall and proud; while wearing a pretty silly looking black one-piece outfit. He did have his fists wrapped in protective bandaging so at least it wasn't completely dumb.

With him was a tall jonin wearing a mask that concealed most of the lower portion of his face and had strange side-standing grey hair.

"I hope we're not late." The jonin said in a bored tone of voice before placing a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and whispering something in his ear. The boy's expression hardened but he did not voice a response. Instead, his harsh onyx eyes shifted into the famous red and black of the Uchiha Sharingan.

Minato smiled before sitting back down.

This was it. This was where Sasuke would show the world what he was capable of. He would show that he was more than just his big brother's sibling. He looked at his opponent, a red-headed short boy from the Village Hidden within the Sand.

The boy wore a massive clay gourd on his back and had a blood red tattoo etched onto the left side of his forehead. He had obvious bags under his eyes that showed the boy did not sleep much.

He glared down at Sasuke from where the rest of the contestants stood before making his way down to the center of the arena after his name was called. The two stood opposite of each other.

A hush took over the arena as the two stared each other down. The proctor standing between them with a single arm raised.

Throwing the arm down and shouting to begin, the man quickly leapt out of the arena just as a wave of sand come straight for Sasuke.

The Uchiha was forced to move out of the way. But instead of just jumping to the side, he began to run. He quickly gained speed and started to go so fast that he was nearly impossible to see; at least for anyone not trained in the shinobi arts.

Sasuke was able to put some distance between him and the sand before skidding to a halt and applying a large amount of chakra to his right hand. The hand began to shake, forcing him to hold his wrist with his other hand to prevent the hand from twitching too much.

He applied more and more chakra to the area until it began to visibly spark. The sparks increased in side and number until his entire right hand was engulfed in blue electricity. The sounds of the sparking chakra echoed within the arena.

Another wave of sand come towards Sasuke; who once again ran out of the way. This time, he had his body low enough to the ground to drag his chakra-coated hand on the ground; leaving a trail of hot rock and dirt behind him. The sand following after him.

The sand shinobi, now known as Gaara, stood stock still the entire time; his eyes never leaving Sasuke's form. Without moving a muscle, he willed a wall of sand to spring up in front of the Uchiha, forcing him to either get out of the way, or be smashed between it and the incoming wave.

So, he did. He turned ninety degrees and dashed straight for Gaara, bringing his charged hand up to bear.

The sand user did not show a sign of fear as his opponent charged him as a wall of sand come up to separate the two. His eyes widened when the sand wall in front of him burst towards him with that electrified hand coming right for him.

Gaara was forced to take two steps back to prevent the attack from actually landing. Lucky for him, his sand was just barely able to prevent his opponent from completely reaching him. The sand boy's expression faltered for just a moment before returning to the same, slightly angry, look he always had.

The fight continued on like this for a while; Sasuke trying his best to get through Gaara's defenses, and Gaara trying to simply catch Sasuke.

The stalemate finally ended when Sasuke, once again, thrust his electrified hand through Gaara's sand wall. This time, however, Sasuke used his other hand to grab onto the wall and pull himself further into it. Finally reaching Gaara and slamming his hand into the boy's right shoulder.

The attack was not anywhere near the full force or power it could have, due to the wall slowing it down significantly, but it was enough to tear away the clothing and leave a decent sized bloody spot on Gaara.

The red-headed boy looked down at the spot with a look of pure shock and horror. He continued to stare down at his wounded shoulder as Sasuke freed his arm from the sand and had to leap away from more trying to reach out for him.

Gaara slowly opened his mouth and let out an ear-spliting scream as a storm of sand surrounded him. Sasuke could not dream if getting close to the boy and any weapons he threw were quickly blasted out of the way by the storm.

The sand began to pile around Gaara until it had completely enveloped him in a large dome. His screaming stopped once the sand structure was complete. As did the attacks from tendrils and waves of sand. Everything appeared to just come to a complete halt once Gaara was encased in his sand tomb.

Sasuke stood poised for any sort of attack to come from the sandy dome, but none came. A sudden surge of chakra coming from inside the sand structure, however, told him that there was something going on inside that he probably did not want to know about or let finish.

Since he was not longer under siege by sand, Sasuke had the chance to really power up his shocky hand attack. He put everything he had into his right hand, the build up of electrified chakra sending bolts all across the ground, leaving heated sand and rock where ever they struck.

Sasuke charged straight for the dome with his hand ready to strike through the hardened sand. But the instant that he reached his target, hardened sand spikes sprang out defensively. The Uchiha was forced to come to a skidding halt or risk being impaled by the dome's defenses.

He was even forced to leap back a few steps as the spikes continued to extend further and further. Once Sasuke was a good distance away did the spikes retract back into the dome, leaving it as smooth as it was when first made.

Sasuke tried the attack again with the same result taking place. He tried once more with no change.

The boy finally stopped and took a moment to think and observe his surroundings and the current situation. For a moment he looked up and could see his family with his father staring down at him, an unreadable expression written all over his face. Further up, he could see his village leader and one of his best friends watching with intent.

The look on Naruto's face was enough for the young Uchiha to see how impressed he already was with everything he had seen. Sasuke could not hide the small smile from gracing his, admittedly, pale face. His smile grew just a tiny bit more when he saw the girl he had been dating sitting

Everyone was watching him. Now was not the time to let himself be beat by some weird freak.

He charge up one final time. This time, for sure, he was going to git his target and end this fight. He put every last ounce of strength he had into hand. He did use up a lot of chakra on that one good hit, but he had enough for one more.

Once again, Sasuke charged forward. And just like the last few time, the sand spikes sprung out from the surface of the dome right for the incoming target. Only, this time, Sasuke leapt to the side the very moment the spikes would have impaled him.

He instantly dashed forward again and saw another wall of spike form and jut out towards him. He leapt out of the way of those as well and continued closer, keeping his speed.

He continued like this until he was close enough to reach the dome. He could see the spikes beginning to form, but pushed onward and thrust his hand out just as the deadly sand weapons began to jut out.

The base of his palm burst through the sandy dome and he could feel it slam against solid flesh. Only, it did not feel like how normal human skin felt like. Whatever he had hit was warm, like a normal living thing, but also felt very gritty with a bit of a leather-like feel to it.

He was about to grab onto the strange skin when it decided to grab onto him. Surprised, Sasuke leapt back away from the dome while yanking his arm back as well.

He was able to pull his arm free from the dome, but also pulled out a strange mass of sand colored flesh that had sporadic blue vein-like markings on it. Once Sasuke was a good distance away, the strange limb pulled released Sasuke before retreating back into the dome. The hole the Uchiha had made still remained.

The stadium was completely silent. No one really knew what to take from what they had just seen.

But there was one thing.

That sand using shinobi, either was or had within him, a demon.

Minato's eyes widened upon seeing the strange limb assault the Uchiha. His brain working hard on answering the question of, why the Kazekage would allow a shinobi with such obvious little control over his demon to participate in the Chunin Exams.

His mind quickly came to a terrifying conclusion. Ever so slowly, not moving his head an inch, Minato glanced over at the Kazekage. The other man was staring right back.

Chaos immediately struck.


	11. Chapter 11

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 11**

* * *

A sudden swarm of shinobi wearing headbands with either the symbol of the Land of Sound, or the Land of Sand flooded both the arena and the village entirely. Not a moment later, the sounds of shouted warriors and clashing steal filled the entire village.

Civilians were already being evacuated and defended by every able-bodied shinobi the village had. No questions were asked, no orders were given. Everyone knew what was going on and what needed to be done.

The village was being invaded!

Minato and the Kazekage were already clashed against one another. Minato using his custom-made three-pronged kunai against the traditional one used by the Sand leader.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Minato shouted as he gave a powerful shove, pushing the Kazekage away.

The Kazekage began to laugh. As he did, the sound of his voice changed and became more like that of a hiss than the gravelly tone the Kazekage was known for. As he laughed, the man's robes slowly fell away, as did bits of apparently false skin.

What was left was a thin man with pale skin, long black hair, and eyes that were as honest as a snake's. He had a strange ring on one of his fingers.

Minato's eyes narrowed as he recognized the figure. A level of hate that the man had not felt in years began to well up within him as memories from the past came flooding back.

"Orochimaru." Minato hissed. He risked a glance back and saw his family grouped together behind him, Naruto making sure to stand in front of his pregnant mother and little sister. Seeing his family still safe, Minato's eyes snapped back to the wicked man in front of him.

"I am so glad that you remember me." Orochimaru chuckled. It was a lighthearted tone, but was about as pleasant to hear as crumpling chip bag in the dead quiet of night.

"You were so young," The an continued. "I was afraid you forgot."

"What are you doing here?" Minato's tone was dead serious.

Orochimaru was famous as a powerful ninja, and a nasty schemer. Above all else, he was known as the physical manifestation of the term 'power hungry' and had been trying to gain the knowledge and power to master every single ninja technique that ever existed. And he was going to achieve that goal by any means necessary.

"I thought you would be a little more pleased to see one of you idols return home." Orochimaru chuckled, a nasty grin adorning his pale, bony face. "You have a lot of enemies Minato. A lot of enemies that would love nothing more than to see you gone and are willing to do whatever it takes for that to happen."

Minato's glare did not falter. "Tell me something I don't know." He pulled out another of his unique kunai. "It seems my policy has been a little lax. After I clean this mess up, I'll have a few words with my council."

"I don't believe you will." Orochimaru chuckled as he waved the hand wearing the strange ring. Minato suddenly found himself surrounded by five other shinobi, all wearing Sound headbands and with strange tattoos visible on their necks. "We want to make this quick, but a few of your _friends _also want things to be as painful as possible."

"Papa!" The sound of his daughter's shouted forced Minato to turn around and see several Sound shinobi grabbing at his family. Naruto was able to deliver a solid punch to one of the cheek of one of his attackers, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the entire group.

Minato made to go help his family, but the five warriors surrounding him quickly began launching attacks, forcing him to focus on them instead. He could feel his age as he fought. Minato was not the young man he was nearly twenty years ago.

In his mind, he knew if he was just a bit younger; just a bit quicker, he could have used his famous speed-based techniques to save his family and easily fend off these warriors. But now, it was taking all he could just to hold them all back. He was able to dodge and retaliate well enough, but any attempt at getting near his family was impossible.

The Sound shinobi finally got the rest of the Namikaze family bound up with special chakra infused rope; just to be on the safe side. All were quickly carried down to the center of the arena and forced onto their knees.

"You'd better stop playing." Orochimaru teased. "Or your family might receive the same fate you will."

No words could describe Minato's anger as he stood still for a moment. He immediately tossed his weapons aside and held his hands up as several Sound shinobi surrounded him and tied him up just like his family. He too was brought down to the center of the arena.

The fighting only lasted for a short while before word of the Hokage's capture reached the ears of the soldiers. All moral was broken upon hearing that their legendary leader was now on his knees. All were captured and brought to the arena, those that resisted were dealt with.

After only a short while, the arena was filled once again with the soldiers of all sides. Even the center of the arena was packed full, except for a small open circle where the Hokage's family was being held.

Gaara had finally emerged from his dome. The entire right half of his upper torso, right arm, and right side of his head was completely covered in that sandy flesh and was larger than the rest of him. His right arm had become that odd appendage that had grabbed Sasuke earlier while the right side of his face had become almost completely beast-like with jutting fangs and even a small triangular ear. His right eye was completely black, except for a small gold star-shaped pupil.

Currently, he had both Temari and another Sand shinobi; one wearing all black with a strange bound thing strapped to his back, trying to calm him down since it appeared he really, really wanted to kill Sasuke.

With everyone all gathered up, Orochimaru and his cohorts stood around the captured family. The massive crowd slowly parted to allow several figures to walk through unimpeded.

"Why should I be surprised." Minato sneered upon seeing none other than Fugaku and several other key council members, along with a few owners of major businesses in the village. They all stood within the circle, in front of the captured family. It really was nothing strange, the man loved to show off whenever possible. So, of course he would fill a massive stadium just to make himself the center of attention.

"You really shouldn't be." Fugaku responded in his classic, superior tone. "You have been such a pain for us all for so long that it was only a matter of time that one of us do something about you."

"Matter of time?" Minato scoffed. "Every single day, you idiots have been doing everything you could to get one over on me. It just looks like now you've either gone completely stupid, or insane."

Fugaku only chuckled at the man's anger. "Now, now." He chastised. "How is that any way for a leader to speak?" He paused. "Well, once leader."

"Am I to assume you will be the one in charge after this? Still sore after your failure of an ancestor couldn't beat a single shinobi?"

Fugaku's pleased demeanor faltered for a moment at the insult, but he refused to let his captive get the better of him this time. He had finally won against this blight upon the village. His end goal, of once again elevating the Uchiha to their rightful place as leaders was finally coming together. So he had no concern about what a failed leader had to say about him.

Insolence would be the first thing punished under his rule.

"Not at all." Fugaku replied, keeping his cool. "I am simply giving the village back it's rightful rulers. It just so happens that it is the Uchiha who are meant to fill that position."

"The village will never follow you." Minato scowled. "No sane person would allow themselves to be turned into slaves. No one wants mindless soldiers and breeding machines."

"They will all come to see my way, in time." Fugaku remained calm. "Especially after they all witness what I have planned for you and your family."

"Just killing us isn't going to make people afraid of you." Minato retorted. "You'll just be all the more pathetic. Can't even kill another man on equal ground."

"You are not my equal." Fugaku finally spat.

As the two grown men had their little argument, Naruto could be heard mumbling by those around him.

"We need to do it now." He tried to be as quiet as possible. The couple of glances he got from both his fearful mother and the few shinobi nearby him showed him that he was heard. He did not care at this point.

"If we wait any longer then someone is going to die." He paused for a moment. "I don't care if everybody sees." Another pause. "Good. Then hopefully everyone will get the message."

"What I have planned for you and your family." Fugaku finally decided to speak at a louder volume, so that the entire stadium could hear. "Is exactly what true traitors of this village deserve." He stepped forward. "You and your son will die and we will have your wife and daughter used to breed stronger soldiers for our military. It would be a waste to get rid of the power of the Uzumaki family."

He continued on for a bit. Going into detail about how exactly he was going to use the family line. Killing the males that didn't have the capacity for ninja-hood. Selling a few of the women to the highest bidders. Usual tyrannical nonsense. He was playing it up to such a degree that it was almost like he was trying to be the worst human possible.

No signs of any scheming or trying to trick the population; just straight up saying every terrible thing he was planning on doing. His eyes would occasionally shift his eyes over to Naruto ever time he put any sort of emphasis on the dastardly things he had planned.

It was clear he was trying to goad the family. But with them all tied up and at his mercy, no one could guess as to why. Even Orochimaru, who loved nothing more than to gloat over a defeated foe, was curious as to why his cohort was going into so much detail.

After about a half hour of just gloating and detailing terrible things, Fugaku finally stopped talking. He looked at both Minato and Naruto and scowled. He thought for a moment before flicking a hand.

"Why wait till later?" He asked nonchalantly. "We can start the new breeding program right now." He snapped his fingers and several of the surrounding shinobi moved forward and grabbed Kushina and her daughter.

"But first." A wicked smile formed. "We should get rid of that useless thing inside her."

One of the Sound shinobi looked at Fugaku with an incredulous expression before looking at Orochimaru. His leader returned the expression closing his eyes and giving a nod.

There was no point in doing this, beyond upsetting the Namikaze family that much further. Hell, the man was wasting perfectly good breeding stock as well as a potential soldier. Fugaku was not a stupid man, there must be a reason behind this sudden madness.

Naruto looked on in horror. He risked a glance at Sasuke, hoping his friend would at least try to reason with his father. To his credit, the boy did try, but the moment he opened his mouth, Fugaku silenced him with a cold glare.

Given that it would have been him against every possible free ninja, Sasuke did the only thing he could do and give his friend an apologetic look.

The Sound ninja gave a shrug before pulling out a kunai as his friends grabbed Kushina by the arms and forced her to lay back. They were sure to grab her fingers so she would not risk using any kind of technique against them either.

The man approached Kushina, who was glaring daggers at the man despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. She had nearly lost her son so many years ago, and now she was going to loose a child that had yet to have been born. She knew that there was no way she was going to be mentally, or physically, well after this whole ordeal was over. No matter how many years would pass.

"Maybe you shouldn't do that." Naruto finally spoke up loud enough to be heard. Everyone had pretty much begun to ignore his earlier muttering as him loosing it. Now he was looking up and at Fugaku.

The Sound shinobi stopped right before pressing the knife to Kushina's swollen stomach. To be honest, it was kind of surprising she was not already having issues with the stress of everything that has been going on.

"It seems you have a very poor memory." Naruto's iris' slowly began to shrink away, leaving just the white. "And have clearly forgotten what we told you would happen if you messed with our family."

Fugaku scowled and turned his attention completely to the boy. "How could I ever forget a threat made by a pathetic worm?" His voice was almost sarcastic.

"Good." Naruto responded in a low voice. "Because the moment that knife touches our mother, we are going to tear out your first born's eyes and turn your wife inside out." He paused for a moment and appeared to almost be thinking over something. "We will leave Sasuke alive, just because we like him."

Fugaku took a step towards Naruto. "I had hoped you would finally speak up and reveal your true twisted nature." He resisted the urge to just smack the boy. There was not way that a cannibal could truly become normal. You are just a sick, twisted little boy."

"Oh." Naruto grinned. "You are right on that, but we are not little."

"Maybe you are grown in age, but you are still but a child in mind." Fugaku argued, not catching that there was a double meaning behind the boy's words. He quickly raised his voice again so that others could here.

"Do you see this? The insolence that this abomination of a child dares to bring in front of the village's rightful ruler? Not only is he a horror that dares to feed on the good citizens of our beloved home, but he threatens any sort of authority. He and his family are a true danger to this village and-"

"Oh, we are a horror alright." Naruto interrupted. "An absolute nightmare." He chuckled.

"What are you doing?!" Minato hissed at his son. The man was busy trying to think of a way to get his family out of this terrible scenario, and his son was acting as stupid as possible trying to provoke the very man wanting them dead.

Naruto ignored his father completely. "And want to know the best part?" His grin grew wider, "It is all your fault."

Fugaku just sneered down at the boy. He did not want to reply.

"Yeah," Naruto's grin grew even wider, becoming almost too big to be natural. "We know what you tried to do. You read the report. So you must know who it was we ate, right?"

Again, no reply.

"The one you sent to kill us, twice." Naruto explained. "Don't you with it's a little strange how a civilian teenager could take down, kill and devour a highly trained shinobi? A jonin no less. Does that not sound strange to you? To anyone?"

He looked around and could see some people actually thinking about what he was saying. So, he continued.

"Not only that. But the same boy just ate the jonin, alive. No cutting up, no cooking. Just eating raw, still living flesh." Naruto turned his head a bit to crack his stiff neck. "Isn't that just a little too much to believe?"

"Do not believe this boy's foul lies!" Fugaku quickly tried to argue back. The sounds of the villagers starting to really understand the logic of the story they had been told.

"All these years of trying to get rid of our family." Naruto continued. "And you finally have as all down at your feet. So close to your ultimate goal, yet a few words are all it takes to get people to believe something else. You tried to use what we have done to make it appear that out family was the wrong thing for this village. You hoped the people would believe your story just because of how terrible it was."

A chuckle escaped Naruto's lips. "But the fact that you had to hire so many just to take the village shows how very little power your words really have. They clearly do not want you as a leader. Even before you can begin to lead, you are already seen as a failure to the village. Our words alone were enough to make the people start talking."

"I changed my mind." Fugaku said as he looked back at the Sound ninja that was still standing in front of Kushina. "Kill him first. I want his corpse drained dry and on display for all to see."

Said Sound ninja moved over to Naruto, who looked back up at him with that same wicked grin. It was starting to unsettle those around him. The milky white eyes was not helping either.

"You sure you want to try?" Naruto asked in a low voice. "You could just walk away. Sure you may be punished, but we can promise that we will make anything they plan to do look like nothing more than a gentle caress." He chuckled. "If you walk away now, you'll at least have all four of your limbs still attached by the time you leave the village. We can't really speak for after that though."

The ninja raised an eyebrow of concern at the boy's words. He knew better than to underestimate an opponent, especially one that was this confident while at, supposed, mercy. There was something going on, and he did not like it. He took a step back.

"Wise choice." Naruto chuckled as he noticed Orochimaru's face harden at one of his underlings cowardice. "Now who is going to take his place? Which one of you want to risk hurting the weak little boy that killed a jonin?"

Naruto laughed loudly as no one really stepped forward. The entire story just did not add up and not a soul wanted to risk something terrible happening to them.

"I thought your shinobi were better trained than this." Fugaku glared at Orochimaru. "I'm not sure if this partnership is even worth it, if cowards are all that your land breeds."

The snake-like man was now actually angry. He had agreed to go along with this little invasion just because Fugaku promised him the Uchiha eyes. He was even able to convince his old friends to help out. Claiming that Fugaku being the leader of such a powerful village would help supply the strangely garbed group of ninja with whatever resources they might need. What for, was still an unknown.

Orochimaru shot back a glare of his own before looking over at another of his underlings; a look of near rage gave the soldier no other option but to take his comrade's place. This one, too, was not so keen on the idea of attacking Naruto; but he was more afraid of his leader than he was of anything else.

"You can walk away too." Naruto tried to reason. "You could leave right now and know that not a single piece of you will be missing once you pass the village walls."

The shinobi just stared down at Naruto with an unreadable expression. This was his job, and he was going to do whatever it was his master ordered.

He gripped his knife tightly and began to reach down towards the boy with the intention of grabbing a fistful of his bright blond hair. Naruto's grin was massive as he watched the hand get closer. A small amount of drool could be seen gathering from the corner of his mouth.

It was only when Kushina let out a scream of pain did both men; along with everyone else, turn their attention to the pregnant woman.

Said woman was not being attacked, despite what the sound she had made would imply. It appeared that the stress of the day had finally caught up with the poor woman and her third child was about to be brought into the world.

It goes without saying that the chatter started to pick up a bit and everyone began to look at one another, looking for any clue as to what to do.

Fugaku was silent for a moment before a smirk showed up on his old mug. "Once the child is born, give it to me. I will prove the superiority of the Uchiha by raising an Uzumaki as the most powerful shinobi to ever live." Nobody really heard him though.

Just a few feet away, Gaara was still trying to be controlled by his siblings and fellow Sand shinobi. Their efforts appeared to be working since he appeared to be alright with standing there, staring hard at Sasuke, as opposed to killing the boy.

Mainly they just told him that he would get to kill him later as well as anyone else he wanted as long as he did not try anything right now. Which, he was more than happy to do. The more he killed, or the more important his victim/opponent, the more alive he felt and the more justified of his own existence he was.

He was content with that, until he heard the woman screaming.

That scream was meant to be something he was supposed to tear out of a person's throat. He was meant to be the only one causing such pain that even the strongest would not help but scream in fear and agony. If someone else was able to pull those kind of screams from someone, then what was he purpose?

He had to fix that.

He had to make sure that it was only him that could cause such agony.

With a swipe of his massive arm, Gaara easily pushed aside everyone in his way before leaping forward towards the shouting red-head. He swiped away ninja around him and glared down at her with saliva dripping down the transformed half of his twisted face.

The woman looked up at the boy. The pain of her incoming child made it impossible for her to really put enough effort into defending herself. The most she could do was reach for and grab one of the kunai dropped by a shinobi that had been knocked aside. She held it in front of her in a vain attempt at self defense.

Minato tried to move, to do anything to protect his wife, but found that any attempt at forming chakra of any kind was instantly impeded by the ropes that bound his arms and legs. He could not even stand up. He was about to resign himself to seeing his wife murdered before him before he noticed another discarded kunai and began to worm his way over to the sharp blade.

Gaara could not hold back his gleeful cackle as he raised his changed arm high into the air; hoping to reduce this fat woman into a nice big bloody smear on the hard ground.

But just before he could bring the limb down, something slammed into him with enough force to send him sailing to the ground. He quickly scrambled to his feet and shot a vile glare at whomever was foolish enough to get in between him and his kill.

None other than Naruto stood in between the half changed Sand shinobi and his mother.

He had snapped the ropes binding his legs and leapt at Gaara to save his mother. Now he was glaring at the boy with a vicious snarl, even as his arms were still bound behind his back.

Gaara looked more angry than confused before charging forward with his changed arm poised to smash the blond fool into the ground.

Naruto charged forward as well, but with his mouth held wide open. Just before the two collided, Naruto's mouth opened impossibly wide as every single one of his teeth were instantly replaced with massive misshapen fangs.

Gaara dug his heels into the dirt and forced himself to come to a halt just as those fangs came closing in. Naruto's teeth clashed together harmlessly just an inch away from Gaara's face. But were instantly open again and heading right for the boy, forcing the Sand ninja to start backpedaling away from the gnashing jaws.

He finally got a good enough foothold to bring his massive arm around and slam it into the side of Naruto, sending the boy sailing away.

With all of the sudden chaos, Minato was able to quickly free himself using the discarded kunai and began making hand seals. He stopped for just a moment when his son went zooming past him and smashed onto the ground, but finished right after to create several clones.

His clones instantly leapt into action, either freeing fellow soldiers or engaging the enemy directly. Not a moment later, the war had started back up and complete chaos erupted throughout the village. The main man focused on making sure his wife and daughter were okay.

Apparently Naruto could handle himself as the moment he hit the ground he was back on his feet. With minimal effort, the boy broke the remaining bonds holding him and glared at Gaara.

"Don't you dare harm our mother." His tone was violent and threatening. An almost otherworldly level of brutal rage could be felt with each word.

"You can do nothing!" Gaara shouted. "I will kill you, her, and everyone else in this village!" As he spoke, more of that sand colored flesh grew over him, covering all but his legs. His entire head no looked like the head of a demonic raccoon-dog; luckily, the saliva had stopped streaming down his chin.

"Everyone here is going to die!" He roared before launching both of his arms forward, stretching them far beyond any sense of normal.

Naruto instantly went down to all fours to avoid the attack; both hands and feet firmly planted on the ground with his limps sticking out to the side preventing his belly from touching the ground.

As the two pillar-like arms sailed over him harmlessly, Naruto opened his mouth and launched his tongue right back at Gaara. The appendage becoming long a very bright red.

The appendage wrapped itself around one of Gaara's legs and pulled, knocking Gaara off his feet and letting him fall to the ground before quickly picking him up into the air. Naruto got to his feet and held the upside down boy before noting both Fugaku and Orochimaru standing off to the side, letting their underlings do the fighting for them.

Naruto, not wanting them to feel excluded, decided to get both of the adult shinobi in on the fun. How? By tossing Gaara directly at the both of them.

The two adults easily moved out of the way and allowed Gaara to fall to the ground a good distance away.

Naruto made a short hop to get in front of the two, but mostly in font of Fugaku.

"What's wrong old man?" Naruto quipped. "Things not going to plan? If only your past attempts on our life had worked. But we doubt it would really have made much of a difference."

The Uchiha leader did not respond with words, but did flash a knowing grin as he looked past the boy in front of him.

Naruto risked a glance behind to see his father doing all he could to keep his wife safe as she and two medic shinobi were busy with baby-birthing. The five Sound ninja were all attacking Minato and were, luckily focused more on him than Kushina. Unfortunately, however, that left their daughter pretty vulnerable.

And one particularly big Sound shinobi was taking advantage of that fact. Currently, he was yanking on the girl's arm to try and bring her over to his master. But the feisty young, name-changing Namikaze was refusing him every step of the way.

Even though the young girl had just started her training into ninjahood, she still had absolutely no ability since most of the early years were spent in class rooms and learning basics and history. So the young girl really had no idea how to get her attacker to release her beyond panicking and beating against his strong arm with all the force she could while dragging her feet.

She did not scream though and looked more angry than scared as the man easily dragged her towards Orochimaru. The man still appeared to be annoyed with the situation since he had to stop periodically to readjust his grip on the girl's wrist. When the girl finally got a good enough footing, she yank back hard enough to make the man stumble back only for her to lean forward and chomp down on the man's arm, forcing him to release her from the sudden pain.

Naruto's younger sister tried to run away, only for the man to grab her again with his other hand. He growled out an insult of some sort before bringing his other hand around and smacking the little girl's cheek.

The sound of flesh smacking flesh echoed like a thunderclap. At least, in Naruto's mind.

He had failed.

He was meant to protect his family. Allow no harm to them at all. And here, his sister had just been hurt. Right in front of him. He had done nothing to stop it.

The feeling of failure quickly passed and was replaced with anger as a terribly roar tore itself from Naruto's throat. His back bulged out grotesquely as he hunched forward.

His head shot up and his eyes focused on the man holding his sister. Not a moment later, a large black tentacle tore itself out from Naruto's shoulder before launching straight for the man.

The target was caught completely unaware as the appendage pierced the side of his skull and exited through the other side in one smooth and quick motion. The man's body stood stock still for a moment before giving a few twitches and finally going completely limp. His body took longer to process he was dead than his scrambled brain.

Naruto yanked the appendage back as several more black tendrils ripped themselves free from Naruto's back and shirt. His face was twisted into an outraged snarl as he held body high for a moment before slamming it to the ground. A loud crack could be heard upon the corpse hitting the unforgiving Earth.

Naruto let out another angry roar as he raised the limp body into the air again. He brought it down just as hard as the first time; more cracking could be heard as well as visible tears showing through the skin, leaking large amounts of dead blood.

Naruto did this several times before suddenly turning his hate-filled gaze back to the ones who were truly responsible for the harm to his family.

Just like with Gaara, Naruto tossed the corpse at the men. But this time, he threw the twisted remains while charging towards them letting out another roar of anger.

Each time Naruto screamed, his voice became less and less human, and more and more twisted and distorted.

Again, the two adults got out of the way easily, but neither made any effort to get out of the way of Naruto's charge. With his hands behind his back, Fugaku snapped his fingers and several Uchiha suddenly appeared around Naruto; separating him from the family patriarch.

Or so they had planned.

Naruto did come to a skidding halt however, and slowly noticed that he had been completely surrounded. He snarled before letting out another monstrous roar with even more black tendrils tearing their way out from what was left of his shirt.

The Uchiha all activated their family's famous red and black eyes before quickly going into a small series of hand seals.

Instinctively, Naruto fell forward and firmly planted his hands and feet onto the ground. Just as the surrounding shinobi inhaled deeply, Naruto pushed himself lower and lower.

The very moment that the group began to exhale, Naruto pushed himself off the ground with enough force to crack the ground. This launched him straight into the air and allowed him to easily avoid the massive fire that was now exactly where he had been just a moment ago.

Ignoring the minions, Naruto focused completely on Fugaku and began to plummet back to the Earth with the express intention of landing on the man.

This time, the Uchiha leader had to get out of the way, or be crushed by the incoming man-shaped ball of incoming hate.

Naruto slammed back to Earth with enough force create a shock wave that knocked anyone nearby right off their feet. He instantly followed his landing by launching several of the tentacles sticking out of his back towards Fugaku. The limbs tried to stab, smash, or grab the man as he moved and dodged around each and every one.

Naruto decided to get more involved after it looked like attacking from a distance was not going to work. With another roar, the boy launched himself towards Fugaku, still attempting to to land an attack with his extra appendages.

Upon approaching his prey, Naruto held his left hand out to the side. With a small twitch, tiny black tendrils wrapped themselves around each of his fingers before lengthening further and quickly shifting into large blade-like claws.

He swiped his arm in a large arc, aiming right for Fugaku's midsection. The combination of multiple tentacles, plus the clawed hand, forced the Uchiha to actually use both of his hands to block and dodge. Naruto continued forward with the assault, making his prey back up more and more with each swipe of his claws.

Fugaku was both angry and concerned. He had planned for the boy to finally reveal what he really was. He did not exactly know what that was or how to deal with it. But he had planned on the combined forces of his clan, the Sound and the Sand being able to easily take care of both Naruto, his family, and the villagers.

He did not expect for Naruto to just come right after him and ignore everything else around. Fugaku's subordinates tried to get close and, at the very least, distract Naruto from trying to kill their leader. But the constantly flailing about tentacles made it impossible for anyone to get close.

Even still, Fugaku was a highly trained and powerful shinobi and there was no way that a completely untrained monster would ever get the upper hand over him. Even if he was forced to defend himself, there was no way the boy could ever cause him any kind of harm.

Without even using any sort of hand seals, Fugaku held his hand up in front of his face and exhaled; producing a large flame that engulfed most of Naruto's head.

The boy roared in pain as he swiped at the fire. His tendrils doing all they could to stay as far away as possible. The fire dissipated quickly and just left Naruto feeling burned and even more angry, pushing his attack even harder.

His other hand became clawed and his tongue had joined in the fray with sharp lashes and quick strikes.

With so many appendages coming at him at once, it was only a matter of time that Fugaku would slip up. And when he did, Naruto took full advantage.

The boy was able to snag onto the older man's ankle and yanked him forward with enough force to both, pull him off his feet as well as slide him across the ground.

Naruto gave a short hop as he dragged Fugaku towards him and attempted to slam both of his feet down on top of the man. He was too engrossed with finally catching his prey, that Naruto failed to see, or even pay a single moment of attention to the strong tingling to the side of his head. If he had, then he would have easily avoided the kunai that struck his temple and embedded itself deep into his skull.

The force of the impact was enough to knock Naruto out of the air and send him falling, harmlessly, to the ground. Naruto's body went completely limp with even the thrashing tentacles lying motionless.

Fugaku quickly got back up to his feet and dusted himself off before taking a glance over at who had saved him. He could not help but give a small, proud smile as his first born, Itachi slowly walked over. The young man had been against Fugaku's plan to return the rightful rule of the village back to the Uchiha, but it appeared that the boy finally remembered where his true allegiance lies.

Sasuke was the same, but never voiced his disapproval. He still refused to actively participate and even looked disgusted and upset at what his father was doing to his best friend and his family. But there was nothing he could do to stop them without risking his own safety. How could he be expected to betray his own family?

Fugaku was about to praise his first born when movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention over to the supposedly dead Naruto. The boy slowly began to rise back up.

Once Naruto was standing again, he reached up with a single tentacle and ripped the kunai embedded in his skull out. Naruto looked at the bloody weapon for a moment, turning it one way, then the other before tossing it to the ground uselessly.

The boy turned his head to look over at both his prey, and his attacker. His mouth back at that nasty snarl as small black tendrils began to slowly crawl over the boy's face.

Fugaku took a step back as Itachi stepped forward.

"Remember what we are doing this for." The father told his son. "You are the best that this village has ever made and it is time that you showed the world what the Uchiha are capable of."

Itachi did not respond. Bowed his head slightly before looking straight forward, Sharingan activated and aimed at Naruto.

"I will end this quickly." His tone was dead and cold. He held no joy, nor hate, for what he was going to do. He was a shinobi of the Uchiha and he was going to fulfill his mission, no matter what it may be.

He drew the sword he kept strapped to his back and prepared himself to kill his little brother's best friend.

Or, he was prepared to, until a sand colored arm appeared from seemingly nowhere and tried to slam Naruto into the ground.

Naruto was able to sense the incoming attack, however and used the forest of tentacles sticking out of his back to catch the arm and hold it up. Naruto let out another enraged scream as one of the tendrils on his back became incredibly ridged and shoved itself right through the offending arm.

Gaara let out a cry of pain as the tendril tore through his mutated flesh. Once it had penetrated all the way through, the extended appendage split into two in a grotesque display before pushing at either side of the arm.

Gaara let out a roar of his own as his arm was sliced into. He grabbed onto it with his other hand and tried to tear it free, but the mass of tendrils holding onto it refused to yield.

With just a small bit more force, both tendrils slide cleanly through the limb, completely severing it. The arm dissolved into sand before it even began to fall to the ground.

Naruto let out another monstrous roar. He turned his attention to the screaming Gaara, the boy holding what was left of his sand made arm.

More sand come up and began to cover what little left of Gaara there was. Sprouting a scaled tail and clawed feet, there was nothing left to show that Gaara had once been human.

"I'll make you pay for that!" The strange one-armed raccoon demon roared.

Naruto prepared himself to leap towards the monster, but was interrupted by his senses warning him of a danger from behind. He instead, leapt to the side and avoided the sword that was aimed right for his spine.

Itachi had tried to use the demon as a distraction and attack Naruto while he was preoccupied. That plan clearly did not work. He was forced to leap out of the way as several black tentacles came down towards him. The appendages slamming down hard.

The Uchiha tried throwing several kunai at the tentacles to try and pin them to the ground, but the weapons were easily swatted away by more of the thrashing limbs.

An infuriated Gaara charged forward before turning midair and attempting to slam his massive tail into his prey. At the same time, none only Itcahi, but several other Uchiha decided to join in and throw their own weapons at the blond boy.

Seeing everything coming at him at once, Naruto gave an angry roar before extending his tentacles out in all directions and thrashing them about wildly, knocking aside anything that dared to get near.

Naruto's roar grew louder and louder as he began to slam his fists onto the ground repeatedly. He began to thrash about wildly as his anger grew and grew.

There were too many. Too many threats to him and his family around. And not a single one he could handle. Every time he tried, another just come around to interrupt and he'd have to start over. Not only that, but he had to some how help his father and mother. He also had to find his sister again since he lost sight of her after killing her attacker just a moment ago.

It was all, just so frustrating. There was just too much going on and it was impossible to focus. He needed to do something, anything.

"I need to be stronger." He growled lowly. "I need all the power you have."

Venom chuckled. _'Good. The first time will be the hardest.'_ It warned._ 'But I will make sure that everything goes well.'_

Naruto's tentacles slowly began to slow down in their thrashing and slowly started to wrap themselves around their host. Several remained to ward off any that dared to get close and were used to smack away any weapons or attacks aimed at Naruto.

Seeing that nothing was working, Gaara let out an irritated roar and summoned a large circle of sand around Naruto. He held his remaining hand outwards towards the boy and slowly began to close his strange and misshaped fingers.

Naruto could see the sand getting closer and closer, but found that he was having a very difficult time moving while Venom was doing his work. The tentacles did all that they could to try and push back the sand, but were easily overwhelmed. Quickly, his entire body was swallowed up by the tan soil, leaving not a single inch exposed. Not even the smallest bit of sound could be heard coming from the sandy cocoon.

While Kushina had been escorted to the very edge of the arena by the medical shinobi and was trying to keep herself as calm as possible while trying to bring a new life into the world. Her daughter had found her way to her without anymore trouble and told Kushina what had happen with her eldest child.

She really did not know what was going on with Naruto, but she feared for the boy's life as she could not see him through all the fighting and chaos. Her husband was doing very well against the five Sound shinobi. He even started to push them back as the previous Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally joined the fight after apparently assisting in the evacuation. The man had brought along more ninja as well who came to assist as well as give information about what was going on with the rest of the village.

As impressive as their fight was, there really was not too many techniques they could really unleash due to the high number of combatants all fighting around them. Even the five Sound shinobi appeared to restrain themselves and it was only when the old Hokage made an appearance and joined in did they decide it best to retreat. At least for the moment.

One of them muttered about who things were not going as planned, or they weren't paid to handle this. Something generic like that.

Seeing that the powerful enemy shinobi had left, bolstered the moral of the Konoha shinobi that much more, and the fighting began to tip in their favor quiet rapidly. Soon, more Sound and Sand ninja were beginning to retreat or surrender as the determination of the Leave shinobi had grown just that much more.

Being freed from his fighting, a tired Minato rushed to his wife and daughter to check on them as well as to find out what was going on with his son. Both girls told all they could. Now Minato had to decide if it he should go and find Naruto, or to stay with his wife.

It did not take long for the father to conclude that finding his son was better than just being there for his third child's birth. Also, his wife threatened him several times over to find their son. So, he did just that, just as Naruto was being engulfed in Gaara's sand.

But before the Hokage could do anything, Sasuke of all people, appeared suddenly next to Gaara and jabbed a kunai into the mutated boy's side.

The boy could simply not sit back and watch any longer. His belief in what his father was doing as the right thing had worn out. He was an Uchiha, but he was also a shinobi of this village.

And, while he was still very conflicted with his father trying to kill his best friend, Sasuke did know that he could not allow Gaara to kill him and potentially everyone else in his home.

Gaara let out an annoyed roar before swiping away the Uchiha. He suddenly remembered who he had been fighting at the very beginning. The first person to question his life's meaning by hurting him for the first time.

Even after being shoved aside, the sandy cocoon that encased Naruto remained and only fell to the ground and still retained it's shape.

Turning to his old opponent, Gaara could not hide the twisted grin that adorned his sand coated face. "It's almost time." He practically giggled. "After I kill this one, I'm going to let it all out. I will make sure that nobody well even remember the Village Hidden within the Leaves!" A small sandstorm began to whip up around the boy as he began to slowly grow larger in size. It even began to regrow the arm that had been severed.

Seeing that things were ow officially out of hand, Orochimaru quietly ordered a retreat. Whatever his goals involving the invasion were, they were not worth risking all of his troops to a sand demon. But, he had become curious about Minato's son and was planning on having another meeting with the boy to find out exactly what was contained within him.

Sasuke tried to reach Gaara, but the whipping sand made it impossible without risk of serious harm.

Gaara's form continued to grow larger and larger in size until it could no longer be ignored by those still fighting in the arena. Mostly because it had grown to almost eight feet in height.

As suddenly as it had began, the sand storm dissipated and the creature looked itself over with surprise.

"Hey!" It shouted in a voice completely unlike Gaara's. "What gives!?" It looked at it's missing arm before summoning a mass of sand to reform the limb. "I should be a hundred times bigger than this!" It glared at the humans in front of it. "What did you useless bugs do?!"

No letting this new creature get any kind of advantage, Sasuke and several other shinobi leapt towards the beast. A few were swiped away easily by one of it's massive arms. The rest by a large gust of air that the creature blew out of it's massive maw.

Minato even came into to try and stop the monster. He successfully dodged it's swinging limbs and closed in on it. With a powerful thrust, the Hokage embedded one of his custom tri-pronged kunai into the beast's large gut. He quickly leapt back out of the way as the creature let out an annoyed cry and attempted to slash the man's body into a nice red paste on the hard ground.

"What are you all trying to do?" The monster laughed. "Don't you know who I am? I am the great sand demon, Shukaku!" To show his mastery over the ground, the raccoon demon summoned up large pillars of sand that quickly snatched up anyone close to them. All the while, the sand beast laughed. "I'm going to turn this entire land into one massive desert!"

It swirled it's two massive arms and it's giant tail around, starting another sand storm. However, this one was already much bigger than the last, with it reaching far past the arena and beginning to encompass the entire village.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Shukaku burst into a fit of insane laughter.

"Oh." A deep and twisted voice boomed from within the sandy cocoon that Naruto had been buried within. "We could not agree more."

Shukaku glared at where the voice came from before bringing a hand up in it's direction and slowly balling his hand into a fist. The sand making up the small tomb growing harder and tighter around the body inside it while raising into the air a few feet. However, no matter how much effort he put into the final part of the technique, the sand would only tighten to a certain point and go no further.

Annoyed, Shukaku tried putting more sand around the tomb. But, nothing different happened. Whatever Naruto had been turning into at the time of his capture, it was simply not allowing the sand demon to crush it.

"You can keep trying." The voice from within it chuckled. "But you will never be able to crush us."

Even with him putting all of his efforts to crush the makeshift sand coffin, it started to slowly expand outward. Small black tendrils began to worm their way through the sand, making the overall structure weaker and weaker.

Shukaku brought up another hand to try and hold the expanding structure, but it changed nothing. He even tried adding more and more sand. Again, no real difference with every tentacle he covered easily poking right back through.

After trying for so long, Shukaku just got frustrated and decide to let whatever was inside out. If it was not going to agree with the quick and easy way to die, then it would have to settle for long and painful.

With the sand tomb once again fallen to the ground, more and more black tendrils poked out of it until finally, whatever Naruto had become was released in a burst of sand and tentacles.

The tentacles mass quickly retreated back to their host, who had finally revealed itself.

Whatever Naruto had become, was not too entirely inhuman however. Bipedal and humanoid in shape and musculature. What stood out, was everything else. The creature stood eight feet tall, had oily-black skin with white veins running all over it's form and had an almost slimy/wet appearance. The nails on the thing's hands and feet had become sharp dark purple claws.

The head of the creature was ever so slightly elongated, making the cheek-less jaws look much bigger than what would normally belong. Speaking of which, the mouth was filled to the brim with rows of long and misshaped, sharp fangs that were more than capable of piercing muscle and bone. It's eyes were two massive, milky-white splotches that were placed more on the face than in the skull like most every other living thing.

The creature looked down at it's hands before clenching it's fists. "Oh." It groaned happily. "It's good to be back."


	12. Chapter 12

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 12**

* * *

"Just what are you supposed to be?" Shukaku asked the new thing in front of him. He was trying to figure out why he simply could not feel any chakra coming from it. Even the smallest bug had at least some chakra, yet this man-thing had not even the smallest drop.

The creature did not answer, but looked up and looked at Shukaku as if it had completely forgot the sand demon was even there. The creature just gave a nasty grin in response.

Seeing Gaara's monster focus somewhere else, Sasuke decided to slink back a bit and try charging up another of his new attacks. Again, he focused all he could in his hand. Unfortunately, there was not much he could actually draw to his palm due to having used the technique so many times. Couple that with him being still tired from his previous fight with human Gaara, and all Sasuke could draw out were a few sparks.

Determined to at least do something about the monster that did **not **come from his friends, Sasuke charged anyway; albeit, a little slower than he would have liked.

Before he could even reach his target, Shukaku's scaled tail easily smacked the tired boy aside. "Did you honestly expect that to work?" He chuckled while glancing over to the drained Uchiha. He turned back only to the other monster's face a few centimeters away from his own.

He tried to take a step back, put the other monster's large hands instantly grabbed onto his shoulders and held him there with a terrifying amount of strength.

"We're feeling hungry." The black monster growled before opening it's mouth wide. Much wider than it's jaw should have been able to stretch. Using that same strength, the creature pulled Shukaku's head into it's mouth and prepared to bite down. The only thing stopping it from doing so was the massive amount of sand that just filled it's gaping jaws.

Shukaku was able to tear himself free from the black creature's grip before sending out a powerful burst of air out of his mouth. The attack smacked his target straight in the face and jerked it's head back so much that the neck had to have been snapped.

The head almost instantly snapped back into place, all while grinning madly. "Want to try again?" He lunged forward with both arms reaching out towards the sand demon. "We haven't eaten a real meal in such a long time. We miss the taste."

Shukaku shot out another burst of air, while at the same time giving a short hop off the ground. The force of the air blast propelled him back a good distance away as well as kicked a good amount of dirt into his new opponent's face.

"Now that was just dirty." The black beast chuckled. "I thought you were looking for a fight. Why are you running away?"

"I am no fool!" Shukaku shouted. "What the Hell are you?"

"What?" The creature pretended to balk at the question before feigning being hurt by his enemy's words. "You don't recognize us?" It chuckled. "We've been fighting all day, and you act as if we have never met. You even trapped us in that little shell."

Shukaku glared at his new enemy. "You're that useless brat? That chakra-less loser?"

"In a manner of speaking." The monster chuckled before thrusting a hand down, stretching it until it broke through the ground. A moment later, that same hand burst out from directly underneath Shukaku and slamming hard into the sand demon's jaw.

"Just bigger, and a whole lot meaner."

The force of the hit was enough to push Shukaku off his feet. The very moment he was airborne, another fist came flying towards him and slammed into his rotund belly. This sent the sand demon tumbling backwards.

"We are just much, much worse." The monster chuckled as his arm retracted back into place.

"I don't care how strong you think you are!" Shukaku screamed. "I'll bury you along with this entire world!"

"Oh." The monster pretended to shudder. "We're shaking." It chuckled again.

Seeing the black creature not take hims seriously, Shukaku let out a roar of anger before launching twin streams of sand from his large arms. The blasts were easily jumped over by the black creature launching itself high into the air.

While in the air, the beast unleashed a barrage of tentacles towards it's target. The many extra appendages smashed into the ground and tried to drive themselves through Shukaku.

Said demon released another powerful burst of air and easily knocked aside the incoming attack before releasing more bursts of compressed air from within his lungs. His target was hit with the full force of each blast and fell from the sky, only to twist it's body around to land on all fours.

"Looks like you do want to play." It chuckled while standing back up. "Don't disappoint us. We want to hear you scream before we tear you apart." He rolled his shoulders a bit before slowly moving towards his prey. Slowly building speed until it was a full charge.

"Don't think you can hurt me with just words." Shukaku summoned up a large wall of sand, only for the black monster to charge right through it with ease. The sand demon summoned another wall, and another right behind it.

The monster just pushed right through them all, even as the sand demon summoned up more and more to help separate him from the other. He even tried to make the walls thicker, denser, but nothing worked and the monster smashed through every last one.

After busting through the last wall, the monster was met with another blast of air. This time, it dug the claws on it's feet into the Earth and was able to keep himself from being pushed too far back.

The monster let out an annoyed roar before appearing to charge forward again, only to feign doing so and instead run straight for Fugaku Uchiha. The patriarch was not prepared at all for this sudden change, and his shocked expression brought a massive grin to the monster's face.

Seeing their leader at risk, two other Uchiha shinobi leapt in front of the charging beast and tried to dissuade it from continuing further.

These fools were not simply swept aside when the monster reached them.

Without slowing down, the dark beast pulled one of it's arms back with the palm held open. Still going forward, the creature swung the arm around and the open palm slammed into the side of the first shinobi. The arm continued to push the ninja until he slammed into his ally. The monster's swing went through and both ninja were sent flying; smashing into the wall of the arena with enough force to be reduced to nothing but a large red smear and a few meaty chunks.

The monster slowed down gradually until coming to a stop, staring at the mess it had just made. "Huh," It chuckled. "We forgot just how strong we really were." It turned it's nightmarish head back to face Fugaku. "A shame really. They would have been a nice little addition to today's main course."

Fugaku balked for a moment before returning back to his tall and, admittedly, pompous stance. "You may want to rethink whatever you have planned." He smirk as Shukaku suddenly appeared behind the black beast. Once again, the sand demon tried to slam it's large arm down onto it's prey.

Only, this time, his prey's entire upper torso twisted around and grabbed the arm before quickly twisting back and using that momentum to toss Shukaku straight at the Uchiha leader. Several tentacles were still attached to the sand monster.

This tentacles became taught just before Shukaku slammed into Fugaku.

The black monster leaped high into the air, bringing his prey with him before landing hard and bringing Shukaku down harder. The sand monster was able to turn the ground into soft sand just before the impact and quickly dissolved away into the grainy stuff.

"Don't even bother to try and hide from us." The black beast said while sniffing the air loudly. "We can smell your sun-baked flesh." It sniffed again. "Tasty." Saliva dripped from it's countless fangs.

The ground beneath the monster suddenly exploded onto a massive pair of sand-constructed jaws that quickly snapped shut around the entirety of the black beast. Shukaku reappeared from out of the ground a short distance away.

"I was being too kind last time. This time I will insure that your blood mixes with the Earth." Shukaku brought his arms forward and began to slowly close his fingers. "In time, that is." He cackled wickedly.

A large black fist pushed forced its way through the sandy prison before swiping away a small opening in the sand. The opening was quickly covered by more sand that was pushed through just as quickly.

"Do you think the same trick will work on us again?!" The creature roared as it forced itself out of the sand trap with a combination of claws and tentacles. "We are not so simple!"

The monster leapt towards Shukaku. "You are beginning to bore us. Maybe you should die early?"

A pillar of sand erupted out from underneath the black creature's body, knocking it out of the air. "Do you not get it?" Shukaku cackled. Another pillar of sand erupted underneath his prey. It was easily dodged by the black beast, but another burst out then another.

Shukaku continued the attack and began to laugh uncontrollably as he watched the foolish monster focus completely on the ground and trying to dodge the never ending attacks.

"I am one of the most powerful demons that the world has ever known!" Shukaku roared. "I am feared even in the deepest pit of Hell! There is nothing that a weak little beast like you can ever do to harm me!" The wind in the arena began to stir up and quickly become another full-fledged sandstorm as Shukaku's laughter increased.

The black beast let out a loud roar of anger before slamming both fists onto the ground and leaping high enough that Shukaku's sand simply could not reach. The sharp wind and sand tore at the creature's flesh as it came back down to Earth, hard.

It landed in front of Shukaku who charged forward and, once again, tried to slam one of his massive arms onto his opponent. And, just like that last few times, the monster caught the limb.

Shukaku grinned wickedly as the portion of his arm held by the beast quickly became very tightly packed sand, adhering the creature to him. He began to inhale a massive amount of air, inflating his stomach to almost comical proportions. He was going to blast this foolish creature apart.

The black creature's other hand came up and grabbed Shukaku's shoulder before pulling the sand beast closer.

"You are a demon?" The monster snarled. "I have devoured gods!" It opened it's fanged maw abnormally wide and successfully bit down on the sand demon's other shoulder.

Instead of the disgusting and grainy taste of sand, this time the monster's bite was true and his fangs sunk deep into the demon's flesh. The warmth and the iron taste of the creature's blood coated the black monster's tongue and brought a sense of euphoria.

The monster's claws dug into the soft flesh, insuring that it's prey could not escape. It's tongue lapping up every drop of blood it could as it's fangs sank deeper and deeper into the soft flesh.

All the while, Shukaku screamed.

The monster was able to tear it's other hand free and quickly brought it over to hold onto his prey easier. Just a moment later and the blood shifted into sand and Shukaku's form began to melt away into dust.

"Oh no you don't!" The black monster roared while releasing his jaws. He raised his prey up and off the ground, preventing the sand monster from simply sinking away.

Twisting around a bit, the black beast slammed Shukaku into the ground before letting out a loud roar and attempting to shove the downed demon's head into his mouth.

Shukaku let out a roar of his own and tried smashing one of his arms against his opponent's head several times. He did get two good hits in, but when trying to slam his fist into the black beast's head a third time, his fist was engulfed in a second pair of jaws that suddenly appeared out of the side of the monster's head.

The fangs of the second mouth sank deep into Shukaku's flesh before violently pulling back with enough force to rip the offending appendage off with a nasty rip. Another scream tore itself from Shukaku's throat.

"Just what are you?!" The sand monster roared as the black beast's head returned to normal.

A massive grin spread across the monster's face, revealing almost every saliva coated fang.

"We. Are Venom." The monster's long tongue slipped out from between it's powerful jaws. "And we, are hungry."

Venom tried once again to shove Shukaku's head into his mouth. Once he could feel his prey using all of his strength to hold him back, Venom suddenly turned his head a slight bit. Just enough to misdirect Shukaku and allow himself to finally bite back down onto the monster's shoulder.

One of Venom's hands grabbed onto the other shoulder, making sure that there was no way for his prey to flee. Instead of just tearing away at the sand demon, however, Venom's hand began to sink into the monster's flesh. Each finger worming around like as if sifting through sand.

Several black tentacles sprouted out from various places on Venom's body and quickly wrapped themselves tightly around his prey. Each tentacle began to pull to either the left, or the right depending on their location.

Venom's enormous eyes widened even further when his fingers finally touched something. He made sure to grab whatever it was and start pulling one way while he pulled opposite with his mouth.

All the while that was going on, Shukaku was screaming. His own eyes widened upon realizing what his opponent was trying to do.

"NO!" Shukaku screamed. "STOP!"

With one more violent tug Venom tore away most of the upper portion of the sand demon while pulling Gaara out from within. Now both the demon and the host were screaming at the top of their lungs.

The sheer agony of being partially removed from each other screamed through every last cell of both of their forms. Whatever sealing technique that had been used to put the sand demon inside of the red-head was doing all it could to force the two back together. Unfortunately, Venom was content to simply not let that happen and just hold the upper portions of the two away from each other.

Tears began to flow freely from both Shukaku and Gaara as Venom ever so slowly began to pull them further and further apart.

He had gotten them down to just being attached by the tips of their fingers when a strong gust of wind forced him to let go just a tiny bit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Venom could see a familiar blond haired girl swinging around a massive fan, creating stronger and stronger gusts of wind directly towards the monster.

More annoyed than anything else, Venom finally let the pair go. Gaara hit the ground first with Shukaku falling directly on top of him and quickly dissolving into sand. Every last grain quickly coated Gaara's body before becoming exactly like a skin-tight suit around the terrified boy. It quickly changed colors to that of Gaara and the clothes he was wearing.

Gaara looked up at his attacker, tears still streaming down his tired face.

Venom took a single step forward and the red-head scrambled to crawl back as far away and fast as possible. The pain he had just endured was something that that no human could ever describe. He could spend the rest of his life studying every language ever made by man, demon, angel, and beast and he would still never be able to describe the torment he had just endured.

Venom kept pace with the terrified boy for a few feet before crouching down to all fours and getting his horrifying face as close as possible to Gaara's.

"Be thankful for your sister." He growled. "If not for her, than me and my host would have torn you two apart and watched as you both slowly perished." He straightened up. "You are not our target."

The beast turned while standing back up to face Fugaku and the few remaining Uchiha gathered around him. Leaving the boy to cower, Venom began to walk over to the small group.

Seeing the massive beast walk was daunting all on its own. Each foot fall let out a deep thud that could be felt just as much as it was heard. The oily black skin appeared to almost be constantly moving, just by the smallest visible amounts. The white veins that spread out over the monster's physically imposing form could be seen enlarging and shrinking as they pumped whatever blood the creature used throughout it's powerful body.

Wide milky eyes that made it impossible for one to tell where the creature was looking added a bit of an unsettling aspect to the already terrifying creature. Those eyes coupled with the constant saliva dripping from the uncountable number of fangs, made Venom appear much more feral and uncontrollable than he really was. Just another aspect of him that made even Fugaku rethink nearly everything he had done.

As Venom got closer and closer to said Uchiha leader, Itachi slowly stepped in between. His eyes were as sharp as the steel of his blade as he stood ready to defend his family.

Venom paused in his approach, but only for a moment before widening his permanent grin and continuing to stomp forward.

Seeing the thing continue closer and closer, Itachi tightened his grip on his weapon and prepared to do everything he could to protect his clan. Or at the very least, buy them enough time to get away. He had no real hope in beating a monster that was strong enough to force a demon out of it's host with his bare hands.

The way the demon held itself showed that it did not even consider Itachi to be even an annoyance, let alone an actual threat. It walked up until the very tip of Itachi's blade poked it's chest.

Venom looked down at the smaller human. "Do you really want to test yourself against us? To protect a man that cares nothing for the lives he has ended today?" Venom's head lowered slightly. "We can see a fire still burn behind those dead eyes boy. A hope for things to be different." He grinned. "But they won't be."

Venom straightened back up. "Your father brought this upon himself. Unless you wish to die with him, we suggest you get out of our way."

He waited for a moment for the young man to move, but the Uchiha refused. He stood strong and tall. His eyes fixated on Venom's own. No matter how much he disagreed with his father's ideals and tactics; Itachi simply could not bring himself to move out of the way of the devil in front of him.

If not to protect his father, than to keep his mother and little brother safe.

"Very well." Venom grumbled before a number of tentacles burst forth from his chest; surprising Itachi and slamming into him with enough force to easily knock him back. Those same tentacles quickly wrapped around the young Uchiha before he could even touch the ground, and hoisted him up into the air before tossing him a good distance away. Leaving Venom to march onward.

He came to a stop just a few inches away from Fugaku. The man refused to show any signs of being intimated and simply glared into the monster's eyes. The two did not exchange any words for a few moments before the Uchiha leader finally cracked a small smirk.

Venom turned his head slightly to look at Uchiha flanking Fugaku. A hard glare was enough for them to take a few steps back.

"No matter what you do now; the entire village knows what you are." He crossed his arms. "You will not be able to hide any longer."

"What's your point?"

Fugaku was, admittedly, not prepared for such a lack of concern coming from the beast. Venom either did not understand the full ramifications of him revealing himself, or just did not care. Either way, Fugaku had to gain at least some kind of upper hand on this monster.

"You will be banished from the village of course." Fugaku claimed. "No one wanted a known cannibal in their home. Why would they want a demon?"

"What makes you think we care what they think?" Venom responded sharply. "If they try to force us out, then we will just eat them. Just like we plan to do to you and your family."

The monster leaned forward. "Did you forget what we said we would do if you tried anything against us or our family? Did you think it was nothing more than an empty promise?"

Venom looked at the faces behind Fugaku for a moment. Just a few individual Uchiha including the man's two sons. There was no telling where his wife was.

"But what about Naruto? Does he not care that his friend will be killed?" Fugaku replied quickly.

Venom's smile grew. "I can make sure that he will go along with it smoothly. After all, we are one and the same. It would not take much for me to twist around his mind and memories to suit my needs." He chuckled darkly. "I can make him believe whatever I wish."

Fugaku was starting to run out of ideas. He had to think of something to save his skin. He was going to have to swallow his pride if he hoped to keep himself and his family alive.

"Fine." He spoke definitively. "I surrender." His posture did not change. "I will submit myself for detainment and will allow myself to be tried for whatever crimes I am charged." He put his arms to his side. "As long as the safety of my family and clan are assured."

He spoke loud enough for others to hear.

Without hesitation, Minato motioned with his hands for several shinobi to come and arrest the man. Two ninja immediately appeared at wither side of Fugaku, only for both of them to be grabbed by the back of the neck and tossed aside as Venom took two more stomps closer.

"And what makes you think we are just going to let them take you away?" Venom lowered his face closer to Fugaku's. "For what you have done, you deserve a lot worse than just a plush room in some high class prison." His grin widened once again. "You deserve a whole lot worse."

Once again, the demon's chest burst out into a massive of writhing tentacles that quickly snagged Fugaku before the leader could react.

"Prison is nothing more than a minor inconvenience for people like you." Venom continued. "With your money and connections, it would be no different than living in a summer home. People like you need to be properly punished." The tentacles began to spread out across Fugaku's body, wrapping around every individual part of the man.

"Men like you need to be broken."

Itachi tried to quickly come to his father's aid, only to be blocked by several shinobi. He did not wish to fight them, but knew that he would have to if he wished to save his father.

Despite being at the beast's mercy, Fugaku refused to show any fear. "You can not do anything to me." He stated confidently. "I have allowed myself to be imprisoned and am under the protection of the village."

"And why should we care? We are a demon, remember?" Venom laughed. "We don't have to follow the rules set by humans for humans."

Venom stopped for a moment before looking to the side. One eye grew slightly in size, almost like he was raising a nonexistent eyebrow.

"What?" He asked to the empty space next to him. He paused. "We must. If we do not than how can we be sure that they have learned anything?" He paused again. "What are a few compared to the many? Lessons must be taught harshly or fools will continue as they always had."

He was silent for a few moments longer.

"Fine." Venom growled before releasing Fugaku. The man easily landed on his feet and quickly returned to his usual pose. "I will let him go."

Whatever just happened, it appeared to the Uchiha that they and their patriarch were safe. While Fugaku may be tried as a traitor and imprisoned for a very long time; the Uchiha name still lived on.

The two shinobi that Venom had tossed aside earlier quickly returned to take hold of Fugaku. Venom still did not move from his spot.

"However!" He practically roared. "I still need to insure that a proper lesson is taught." He glanced at the two shinobi. "Hold him tightly." He commanded.

Not wanting to risk being killed by the demon, the two shinobi did as they were told without hesitation; tightening their grip on the man almost painfully so. The overwhelming presence of the creature, as well as the fact that their Hokage had not commanded them to either obey or not, was enough to force whatever command it desired upon them.

"I will take something of yours that you hold most precious." He reached one hand out and grabbed hold of Fugaku's head. "Years looking through Naruto's eyes have told me exactly what that may be."

He flexed his other hand before holding it up. "I will take an eye." Venom declared. "I will take the one thing you Uchiha care for above all else. Your precious little eyes."

Fugaku finally glared at the demon while forming a disgusted scowl. "You will never gain the power of the Uchiha. You try and I can promise that every last soldier in this village will be out for your blood."

Venom let out a mighty laugh. "Your power?! HA!" He clearly mocked the Uchiha. "Your power is worthless to me. I can already see more than you ever could. I can devour gods. Compared to the things we have swallowed, you and your clan are as nothing. Less than the stones we crush under our step."

Venom leaned in close enough to lick the man's face. "We just want to take it from you." He straightened his posture before bringing his index finger and thumb closer together and reaching for Fugaku's face.

"You will never gain our eye from me." Fugaku seethed. He refused to active his own Sharingan, leaving his eyes their normal onyx color. As long as they remained inactivated then his family's power was still safe.

"Oh,we will." The thumb of the hand holding Fugaku's head split into several tendrils. This wriggling appendages quickly pierced the skin of the man and began to burrow themselves further inside. "Weather you give it to us willingly, or not."

Fugaku clinched his jaw and had to forcibly grit his teeth to prevent himself from shouting. He could feel every single movement that the tiny tendrils made as they dug through his flesh and traveled to his eye.

He could feel the tendrils latch onto and move around the his very nerves, forcing his eye to change into the red and black tone of the Uchiha Sharingan.

"Hurts, don't it?" Venom chuckled as he continued to reach for the activated eye. The ocular orb shifted every now and then back to the plan black of the original as Fugaku struggled to regain control over it.

Venom stopped his approach with the tips of his claws just a few millimeters away from his prize.

"I hope you scream." Venom whispered before violently jamming both fingers into the man's eye socket.

Fugaku could not stop the scream from tearing it's way out of his throat. Both fingers moved around within his head randomly as he tried to jerk away as mest he could. The hand holding his head and the two shinobi holding his arms, prevented him from really doing much in the way of escape.

Venom took his time. He relished the sounds of the man's anguish as he purposefully avoided the eye and did as much damage to everything around it as possible. He wanted to hear all the man had to offer before his voice could give out.

Eventually Venom thought enough was enough and with a sharp yank, pulled the eye clean out of the man's head. Still holding onto Fugaku, Venom looked at the red and black iris; and he made sure Fuagku could see his prize as well.

"We hate that color." Venom grumbled as he stared hard at the odd red and black pattern.

He held the eye up high, so that all could see his it. Venom then tilted his head back and opened his mouth before dropping the orb right into his awaiting stomach. The demon chuckled as it finally released his prey; only to grab onto the top of Fugaku's head and force the man's face close to his own.

"Be thankful that Naruto talked some sense into me." He growled before letting the man go for the final time.

Venom did not bother to look at the rest of the Uchiha as he began to stomp over to his host's family. He was not a friend of any of theirs. His host may like Sasuke, but that did not mean that he himself did.

Kushina was still laying against the wall with a small bundle in her arms now. Her second oldest child was sitting next to her with an arm tightly clutching onto her mother as the monster approached them.

Minato stood tall in front of his wife and children. His arms to his side and his eyes glaring down the approaching demon. He had not said or done anything as Venom confronted Fugaku. Both, because he honestly felt that the Uchiha had deserved it, as well as to gauge the personality of the monster.

It was violent and cruel. That was all Minato got and all he needed to know. This thing already took his son, he was not going to let the rest of his family fall by it's powerful hands.

Venom stopped just in front of the blond man. His giant eyes glanced over at the women before focusing on the man before him.

"Hello there, father."

"What are you?" Minato asked immediately. "And what have you done to my son?"

"Not even a friendly hello?" Venom chuckled. "What's the matter? Don't recognize your own son?"

Faster than any could see, and harder than anyone could ever expect, Minato slammed his shoulder into the chest of the beast with enough power to send the creature sailing through the air.

Venom landed on his back and did not have even the smallest moment to move before Minato was above him with one of his custom kunai pressed firmly against the monster's throat.

Venom would admit that he was caught completely offguard, but he did nothing to struggle or resist the man.

"Where." Minato seethed as he pressed the blade harder against Venom's neck. A small amount of purple blood leaked out around the sharp edge. "Is." He slammed another of his bladed weapons onto the ground next to the monster's head. "Naruto."

Venom grinned widely. "He's in here with me." He stated calmly. "Or, he is me." The demon chuckled. "Or he is long dead and I've been pretending to be him for years. Or maybe I'm just what happens to people who are overcome with envy for the powers others have."

Minato's facial expression did not change. He was close to just stabbing into the demon and tearing him open, just to see if a piece of Naruto still remained. Even if all he found were bones; just something to let him know that his son had at least at one point actually been his son.

Suddenly, Venom's form appeared to quickly melt into a shapeless black blob. The mass quickly moved out from underneath Minato before reforming back into Venom's normal shape just as quickly.

"Why don't we go home and discuss this..." Venom glanced over at the female Namikaze. "...Like a family." He chuckled before making his way out of the arena and heading in the direction of the Namikaze household.

With the invasion of the village over, civilians were slowly making their way out of whatever shelters they held up in. Upon seeing the large and terrifying figure of Venom casually strolling down the street, most decided to go back into hiding.

There was no longer any reason for the monster hide within his host. The whole world would soon know of his presence.

Unfortunately, that would also bring in new threats to his new home and his hosts family. But, Venom was more than happy to face off against any whom were foolish enough to come for him or those that Naruto cared for.

But that was neither here, or now. So, as he walked about, Venom decided to take in the sights and sensations around him. It was different seeing the world through his own eyes as opposed to his hosts'.

It felt good to finally be able to see the things he wanted to see; like the crumbled buildings that used to hold families or stores. Smell scents that he had long forgotten, like the smoke from the fires caused by the invasion and the iron-lased scent of spilled blood.

To feel the warm breeze and to even taste the air. Venom missed it all so much. Sure, he could sense everything Naruto did. But, it felt muted and lacking.

To counteract the feeling of joy, Venom was also feeling a sense of unease and paranoia. He was exposed. Outside of his host and vulnerable to the things being inside Naruto protected him from.

While Naruto, and humans in general, were pretty fragile creatures compared to the countless animals, monsters, and demons that existed; being inside of one did guarantee a level of safety unlike any other.

The natural barriers that a host body provided, as well as the survival instincts mixing with his own practically guaranteed that he would be safe. Even more so if the host lead a safe life and was not one that actively went out looking for conflict.

Again, that too came with it's own problems. Primarily boredom as well as having trouble finding adequate meals.

Life was just so hard for Venom.

Speaking of food; Venom decided that since he was already out and about; that it would not be a bad idea to grab a quick snack. Especially since his planned meals were so rudely stolen from him.

He looked around for a bit. He could easily just snag one of the terrified civilians without any real hassle. The only downside would be his host constantly complaining about Venom eating someone weak without being on the verge of starvation.

There was also no way in Hell that Venom was going to eat the occasional dead shinobi he would come across laying in the streets. He had a standard that he would be damned to betray, even if he was near death. Or maybe not.

He would have to find something to eat later since he was already approaching Naruto's home. The family was already waiting for him. Expect for Kushina and the newborn, both had been quickly escorted to the village hospital. Minato had sent his daughter along with her so as to speak with the demon alone.

With that same twisted smile, Venom walked past them without a word and ducked into the house. His form was much too big to stand comfortably within the humble home, so the demon was forced to hunch over something terrible just to fit inside.

Venom noticed that there was a large number of tags covering most of the walls.

"Now." Minato said from behind the demon. "Talk."

"Mind explaining what these are for?" Venom asked while slowly peeling a tag off the wall. A kunai quickly found itself embedded into the wall right next to Venom's hand.

"If you refuse to tell me what I want to know, I will make sure you die. There are enough explosives in this house to destroy it and everything inside completely. Not even a tooth will remain."

Venom chuckled darkly. "A shame you have never resorted to such methods with others that have opposed you."

Minato did not respond and only glared hard at the beast as it turned to completely face the man. With Venom's massive bulk compressed into such a small place, the monster looked much bigger than when outside. But Minato was not about to let this thing intimidate him.

"So what would you like to know?" Venom tried to pretend and ask innocently, fully aware of the man's want.

Minato slammed a fist into the nearby wall, cracking a large amount of the structure. "Don't fuck with me." He snarled. "Where is my son?!"

Venom chuckled before opening his mouth. His jaws pulled apart unnaturally as Naruto's face came into view from deep within the monster's throat.

The boy did not look directly at his father, shame having completely taken over him. He had spent the time thinking on everything that had happened, as well as the words spoken by everyone.

The words he had focused on the most, were Venom's.

Was Naruto even really Naruto? Did he really die all those years ago and was just a mental copy of that little boy? Was he nothing more than a personality made up by the demon to serve as some kind of guard?

Did any of that matter? Even if he was just a fake of the original, Naruto still wanted to protect his family and his home. Even if that was not his own desire, and that of the one he had come from, or had used to have been; Naruto still desired nothing more than to protect all of those closest to him.

"Naruto?" Minato had to resist the urge to reach out for the boy. Seeing his son, alive was almost overwhelming for the father. The thought that it could all be fake did not matter to Minato, he could see his son again. The worry that Naruto was really gone had completely consumed the man with fear.

Seeing his face at meant that the demon had not killed him completely at the very least and that there might be the slimmest of hope that his boy could be returned to him.

At the same time, the gears started turning in Minato's head. The reason his son would come home late at night on seemingly random nights and bolt to and lock his room. The sudden cannibalism; it was all because of this monster. It was not his actual son that was killing and eating people, it was Venom.

As if that was not painfully obvious at this point in time.

"Hey," Naruto tried to smile, but could only form a sort of sad expression. "Dad."

Minato thought quickly about his next choice of words. "Don't worry, Naruto." He tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. "I will find a way to get you away from that thing."

"NO!" Both the voice of Venom and Naruto shouted while their massive bulk pushed forward slightly. "You can't take him/me away!"

Minato bulked back at the immediate response. He was expected resistance from the demon at the very least, but was caught offguard by his son doing the same.

"We need each other." Naruto quickly explained.

"Your boy will be dead without me." Venom added in.

"I can't be a ninja, dad." Naruto ignored his demon. "I need Venom to protect you and the entire village. Venom is strong and has shown me how to protect everyone."

"If you try to take me away, your son will die." Venom tried his own method of convincing his host's father. "Even if you somehow save him, he will be just as weak and vulnerable as he was before we joined."

"Naruto." Minato ignored the demon; his voice was calm and concerned. He knew his son wanted to somehow serve the village despite his lack of chakra, but he did not think it would go to the extent of harboring a cannibalistic monster. "You don't ever have to worry about us or the village."

"What we just witnessed proves otherwise." Venom countered. He refused to be ignored. Even thought, Minato was determined to completely block out every word the monster had to say.

"But I do." Naruto argued. "Both you and mom are from very rare and powerful clans. As well as you both being very important political figures. Everyone in this family is constant danger."

While his son was right, Minato still did not want to agree to it. "This was just one small incident." He tried to counter. "I can guarantee that nothing like this will ever happen again. Me, your mother; everyone will protect this village with all they have. You will never have to worry about us."

"He lies to us." Venom grumbled.

Naruto shook their collective head. "I just don't think we can believe that dad." His voice was solemn. "An attack on our family is what brought me and Venom together in the first place. It opened my eyes years ago."

He looked away from Minato. "Even if it meant becoming something less than human.."

"We became something greater!" Venom let out a triumphant roar.

Minato shook his head. "It is clear to me that this demon has caused you to become like this." He sighed. "I promise to do all I can to free you from it."

"Ugh." Venom groaned before closing his mouth, once again enveloping Naruto completely. "You do not seem to understand what I am telling you."

Minato was about to yell at the beast for taking his son away again, but was interrupted when Venom decided to continue.

"I was not speaking lies when I said that Naruto will die should you try to tear us apart." Venom glared down at the smaller man. "If the stress of it does not kill him, then the fact that the back of his skull is caved in will."

Again, Minato wanted to argue against the creature. However, the definitive way that the monster stated these facts caused the Hokage to hesitate. What if the monster was really speaking the truth? Maybe taking them away from each other would kill his son? He did not care one bit about what happened to the monster.

This was a matter that he now had to dedicate considerable time in looking into. He was going to need to talk to a lot of people that knew about demons and what-not. He had a few calls to make.

Minato quickly regained himself. "Fine." He said harshly. "Since it looks like I do not have a choice in the matter."

"We knew you'd see it our way." Venom chuckled before slowly shrinking in size. Once he had gone down to the size of Naruto's regular body, his own split into thousands of tiny tendrils that vanished within the skin and clothes of the boy.

Minato was once again relieved to see his son back to being a human once again.

"So," Naruto spoke up. "What are we going to do?"

His father gave him a look that clearly said he had not been paying attention to the boy's words.

"I mean, the entire village knows what I am now. It was bad enough when they just thought I was crazy and ate people. Now they know I'm a monster." Naruto explained simply.

"We will just continue with life as it was." Minato stated with finality. "You will start going back to school. You will graduate and you will go on with your life. Act as if you were completely normal."

"No such luck there pops." A black tentacle sprouted from Naruto's back, formed a fang-filled mouth, and swiveled over to be a part of the conversation. "Even if we try to make things go back to the way they were, people would still talk. Humans are scared little things that lash out at what they don't understand." Venom chuckled. "Some brave fools will try to kill us in a vain attempt at protecting the village."

"It would be simple for me to enact laws that forbade speaking about you and even acting against you in a hostile manner." Minato's tone was cold and in fact. He wanted to speak as little as possible to the monster.

"And do you honestly believe for such laws to truly work?" Venom asked with a harsh laugh. "People will still try to go after your son; either disregarding your laws completely, or doing so in secret."

"The punishments for breaking the laws will be severe."

"Ah, ah, ah." Venom chastised with a face-less grin. "If you make the punishment too severe, then your little political pals will have a field day. It would be just another excuse for them to leech your power. Make the punishment any less, however, and even fewer people will bother obeying the law."

Minato sighed. He refused to argue against the creature. It clearly had no idea what being the Hokage meant in this village. Minato's rule was absolute, not even the council could directly oppose him. Sure they could, and have, made things difficult for him in the past; but as the leader of the village, Minato could not be directly opposed.

It was because of this absolute rule that Minato had to insure that none of his colleagues got the same position. He was very aware about what they wished for the village. At least he did not rule his village with a dictatorial view.

"Now that the worlds knows of us." Venom continued. "We no longer need to hide. We will always be present. Any fool that dares to come for us with be forfeiting their lives and will make our meals."

"I can not allow you to kill the people of this village, no matter what their intentions."

"You don't have a choice!" Venom shouted with a nasty laugh. "I am always going to present with Naruto. I will always protect him. And I will always eat anyone that dares to cause us harm." He laughed again. "Look on the bright side, I might decide to include all of you since my host seems to care so much about you."

Several tentacles sprouted out from Naruto's back and the one with the mouth wriggled a bit before the fanged set of jaws vanished away.

"Is there nothing you can do?" Minato asked his son. Seeing him becoming something so inhuman hurt the father like nothing had before.

"Sorry." Naruto shook his head. "He is at least half of me and there is only so much I can do to control him."

Minato nodded in understanding before a silence washed over the two. Neither really knowing what to say.

"How about we go check on your mother and sisters?" Minato forced a smile.

Naruto's face appeared to brighten at the thought of having a new younger sibling. "Yeah, okay."

"We can all talk about this together, like a family. You can explain everything to your mom as well."

Naruto nodded with a smile as he watched his father smile back before walking out the front door.

Naruto followed behind, but his smile slowly shifted into a harsh scowl.

_'They got away from us.' _Venom's words echoed in his ear. _'That wretched family still dares to walk the same ground as us after attempting to slaughter our entire family! We can not let this stand as it is.' __Worthless politics got in our way today, but soon. Soon we will consume that entire worthless family."_

Naruto did not respond with words, but gave a nod in agreement. His father and his men may have stopped him from enacting the proper punishment the Uchiha deserved. But they would not be able to stop his next attempt.

The Uchiha family was destined to die, and have it's name forgotten. And Venom was sure to be the one to do it.


	13. Chapter 13

**Lethal Shinobi**

**Chapter 13**

* * *

_'Are you ready?' _Venom whispered in Naruto's ear. He watched through his host's eyes as Naruto got ready for his day. A usual scene that he had gone through with the boy a countless number of times.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Naruto said with a heavy sigh. The young man was finally returning to the village academy today and was a little anxious about returning after being outed as a demon host. Not only that, but it was also the start of the new school year and this would be the first time that he would be going while knowing virtually no one.

Naruto's parents had been smart and had been homeschooling him while he was home, making sure he did not fall too far behind.

_'This is going to be fun.' _Venom chuckled as Naruto finally left his room and made his way downstairs. His mother had breakfast all ready for her family sitting on the dinning room table. She had her third child in a harness strapped to her back so that she could keep an eye on her while stilling doing the cooking.

"Good morning." Kushina said cheerfully upon seeing her eldest child awake. "I will say one thing about Venom. Ever since you've been together, you have been getting up on time a lot more often."

"Thank you mother." A mouthed tendril crawled out of Naruto's shoulder spoke up. "We wish for nothing but the best for our host and that includes getting to school on time."

"Please don't try to get on my mom's good side." Naruto whined. "I really don't need our life to become some sort of awkward sitcom."

Thankfully for Naruto, Kushina did not respond to Venom, or even acknowledge that he was even there. Naruto's father did the same. The less they spoke of and too the demon, the better it would be for their whole family.

"Aw," Venom whined before chuckling and returning back to his host.

"Please try to keep him under control." Kushina told her son in her usual motherly tone. She had heard the same story Minato had been told; and just like her husband, she hated what had become of her firstborn.

"I can try." Naruto responded before sitting down next to his sister. She was, once again, going by a different name. Ruby, or something this time.

As she was always doing, the girl was reading a book at the table while absent mindedly munching on her breakfast. Ever since the failed invasion of the village, Naruto's sister had started reading books dedicated to more ninja-based tactics and techniques. It would appear that she was starting to really get invested into become a ninja herself.

The family ate in silence before Naruto had to leave for school.

With a heavy sigh, the boy stepped out of his front door and began the trek to the academy. The very second that Naruto stepped out onto the street, he could feel nearly every eye on him. He could practically hear every whisper as if it was a viscous scream.

Naruto did his best to ignore it all as he walked to school.

One noticeable difference about Naruto that the boy was starting to realize, was the he was using his tentacles a lot more often then he would have expected since being outed as a demon host. Without feeling like he had to hide them anymore, Naruto had become more than happy to use them just as regular extensions of his body.

Why bring this up all of a sudden? Because Naruto was currently using one of his tentacles to carry his school bag while having his hands in his pockets. He had become so used to them that he was not even aware of using it.

Of course, that did not mean he wanted to have them waving around everywhere always. People were already scared enough of the boy as it was, he did not need to give them more reason to fear him by waving his extra limbs about.

More and more students began to appear on the street as Naruto got closer and closer to the academy. Upon being seen, most would try to walk either a good distance in front or behind the blond boy and refuse to make any sort of eye contact.

"Looks like they are afraid of you." A Venom tentacle mused as it come out from Naruto's back. The tendril moved back and forth, as if looking around at the many faces bulking at the eyeless set of moving jaws.

"And I don't think you're helping ease that fear one bit." Naruto mumbled without looking away from his forward path. Since the world knew of Venom's presence, the monster no longer felt the need to communicate with his host inside their shared mind.

"Well," The snake-like head turned it's attention towards the boy it protruded from. "They are just going to have to get used to us. We are not going anywhere."

Finally making it to school, the cheerful greetings of friends and fellow classmates quickly died down once Naruto made his appearance. Low whispers and nearly silent murmurs followed as the boy as he made his way to the shoe lockers and eventually to his classroom.

Again, upon entering the classroom, all talking stopped and all eyes focused on Naruto.

He walked silently to a seat in the back of the room and sat down in silence. Upon looking around the room, Naruto noted that the students had suddenly found literally everything else a lot more interesting than him and were doing all they could to not make eye contact with the boy.

Class eventually started and the day progressed. Not even the teachers appeared to want to address Naruto in any way, fear filling their eyes once they either glanced in his direction or even read his name.

Once lunch rolled around, Naruto was practically the first person out of the room and even the main building itself. He quickly found the tree that he, Sasuke, and Kiba had been gathering at since they were much younger. Sadly though, neither of his friends would be there.

Not now, or ever again.

Naruto had to remind himself that they were full-fledged shinobi now. They were usually on a mission or training; if not taking the opportunity between either to spend time with their families.

Feeling just that bit more lonely, Naruto sat down at the base of the tree and began to eat the lunch his mother had made for him.

It was good.

* * *

"Hey Sakura." Ino greeted her friend cheerfully upon landing at their usual meeting place. She and her friends all agreed to meet up at the same spot every day that they had an opportunity to eat lunch together. Sometimes they all would be able to meet up, sometimes only one of them would be there. Sometimes, no one would be there.

Today, it would appear that both Sakura and Ino had both found times in their busy schedules to meet up together for lunch today.

Sakura greeted her friend as both sat down to eat the food that they had brought with them. Sakura was eating a meal her mother had made for her while Ino was trying something new that she had concocted within her family kitchen.

The two ate in silence for a moment before Ino pointed her chopsticks forward. "There he is." Her voice was almost a whisper.

The meeting place where Sakura and all of her friends agreed to have as their lunch spot, just so happened to have a wonderful view of the village; this included being able to easily see a good portion of the academy exterior.

From their elevated position, the girls could see Naruto eating alone. He had a few tentacles sticking out holding onto his food as he ate and seemingly stared off into space.

"I kinda feel bad for him." Ino mused as she ate. "All of his friends are away and nobody is willing to go talk to him." She popped more food in her mouth before continuing. "Imagine it. Having a monster inside of you that you can talk to all the time, but no one like you to talk to or who wants to talk or be near you." She swallowed. "Must be lonely."

Sakura gave a hum as a response. She heard her friends words, but was lost in her own thoughts. She could remember when she would see Naruto and his friends messing around at lunch and could recall the smile the boy usually had on his face.

His current dower expression just did not belong there.

_'We should go fuck him.' _A voice in the pink-haired girl's head suddenly spoke. The voice was nearly shouting and was uncomfortably close in tune to her own. Ever since Sakura took on her first mission as a shinobi of the village, a simple escort mission for some boring business man, she had been hearing an odd voice perk up at the most inopportune times. Usually saying either something really violent, or really perverse.

The voice would usually just spout something about the current situation and would even address Sakura directly, as if to try and talk to her. But years of friendship with Ino and her psychological expert parents had taught the girl that interacting with voices that were not really there, was not always the best course of action.

But heavens if it was not annoying and awkward. Especially now.

_'Showing him our tits and ass is sure to perk him up.' _Sakura's inner voice sounded way too chipper for the words that it was spewing.

Besides the lewd words going on in her head, Sakura did hear Ino and was still thinking about just how down Naruto must currently be feeling. Even as he stuffed his face with his mother's home cooking.

They could see the snake-like tentacle sprouting for Naruto's shoulder. It's fanged mouth moving as it's unreadable lips spilled words into Naruto's ear.

_'I bet he can use those tentacles on us in the most delicious of ways.'_

"Strange." Ino mused aloud once again, not even really caring that her friend had not responded to her previous words. "We've spent years eating across from him and his friends and never once bothered to say anything to any of them." She leaned in a bit. "I mean, he isn't that bad looking. Despite the demon and everything."

She hummed for a moment. "Maybe we should have tried to be his friend."

"Tried?" Sakura finally looked over at Ino. "Are we not able to be his friend now? He looks like he could really use one."

_'He also looks like he could really use our throat as a cock sleeve.'_

Ino quickly realized how her statement must have sounded. "I-I didn't mean we still couldn't be his friend." She quickly corrected herself. "I meant that maybe we should have tried talking to him then instead of now." She fumbled for a bit. "If we just show up to him now it might make him think he looks desperate or something, then he'll get mad at us for trying to take advantage of him and then all of this would be a big waste of time.

Sakura gave a nod, understanding where Ino was coming from.

_'If we shake our asses directly in his face, he might want to be our friend. Just pull our pants down, jut our butt out and give a good little wiggle to let him know everything will be alright.'_

"But how should we approach him?" Ino put her lunch box aside and struck a thinking pose. Her mind going through all possible routes that would not end with the boy responding in a weirded out manner.

Sakura's inner voice continued to offer it's own advice as the girl thought it over as well. As far as she knew, Naruto only had the second born of the Uchiha and the Inuzuka as friends, and they were away most of the time either training or on missions.

Ino and herself were not much different, being ninja of the village and all. They too were very frequently on missions for the village or were busy training themselves to get better and stronger.

But they were here now and would be able to be his friends when others were not; again, if they were present at the time as well. Naruto really need to find some friends that were just regular, plain, civilians.

* * *

"We can make them like us." Venom tried to argue as his host ignored his every word. The fanged tentacle moved this way and that through the air, constantly looking around as well as doing everything it could to annoy Naruto.

The boy had learned long ago how to ignore the monster's ramblings.

"We can make everyone like us." Venom continued, not caring that his words were not heard. "All we gotta' do is wiggle our way into their head and we can make anybody do whatever we want. We could even make every woman of the village be yours, regardless of their relationship status."

"Why do you say these things?" Naruto finally asked while swallowing a mouthful.

"I'm not saying that we _should_ do that or anything. But if we ever really wanted to, the option is there." The demon tried to defend itself.

"Well," Naruto took another bite of his meal. "You saying these things is not making anybody feel any better about us." Naruto glanced over at a small group of students who were doing all they could to pretend the boy did not exist.

"Why should we care about how our food feels?" Venom huffed. A visible shiver could be seen running down the spines of all within earshot. This brought a twisted chuckle from the demon.

Venom's laughing dried up as the tentacle turned to face someone bold enough to approach he and his host. It was clear from his stature that it was a kid that had just entered the academy. And it was clear from his clothing that he had yet to mature out of his childishness as the kid wore a long scarf as well as a pair of strange goggles on his head.

The kid approached Naruto while Venom wormed around a little before slipping away back inside his host. This child did not grasp the demon's attention at all.

"Hey." The boy's voice cracked awkwardly. "You're Naruto right?" He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and appeared to be almost vibrating.

Naruto finally noticed the boy as he finished his lunch.

"Yeah." Naruto responded hesitantly. The kid did not look like he could be any kind of threat, but in a village like this, one could never be too careful.

The kid's eyes appeared to light up a little. "You have a demon inside you right?" The boy did not give Naruto time to respond before continuing. "I just saw it. Does it always look like that? What can you do with it? Do you two fight? I'm Konohamaru by the way."

The boy asked question after question without giving Naruto even the smallest moment to respond. The older boy was taken aback by the barrage for a bit before realizing that the kid would eventually run out of breath.

And so he waited until the kid had to stop to breath before responding.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Was the first thing Naruto could think to ask.

"Why would I?" The kid asked completely innocently.

The child's response completely stunned Naruto for a moment. Everyone had been acting as if he was the devil incarnate; doing everything within their power to avoid him at all costs. Yet here, this kid; who was clearly aware of who and what Naruto was, was not just looking in his direction, but talking to him like a regular person.

"Because we are a flesh-eating demon." Venom's head appeared suddenly from Naruto's chest and thrust itself towards the young boy, surprising Konohamaru and making him fall backwards onto his rear. This tore a chuckle from the monster's jaws as it retreated back inside of Naruto.

"But you haven't tried to hurt me yet." Konohamaru explained as he got back to his feet. "So until you do, I don't see a reason why I should be afraid of you."

Naruto could not hide the small smile the boy's reasoning brought to him. It was nice to know that maybe not everyone was completely terrified of him.

Naruto waved the younger boy to sit down with him and began to answer Konohamaru's many, many questions. The two were still talking when the bell ending lunch break rang.

"Aw man." Konohamaru whined as he got to his feet. His eyes suddenly gleaming as he saw two black tentacles extend out of Naruto's back and plant themselves onto the ground; Naruto using them to easily get to his feet with minimal effort.

"That's so cool!" The kid exclaimed loudly as he moved around to watch the tentacles move about a bit before retracting back into Naruto.

"Are ya' sure?" Naruto asked while watching his own limbs. "Everyone else keeps looking at them like they are gross."

"Are they slimy? Do you have scales? What does the demon actually look like?" Once again, Konohamaru was spouting question after question. He continued to do so even as the two had to separate to go to different classes.

As the smaller kid chatted up his ear, Naruto noticed that he was getting a few different looks from the people he passed in the halls. It was a similar expression of fear, but there was a great deal of disgust mixed in as well.

Not a single soul was happy that there was someone willingly being around Naruto.

He could already hear their whispers. Thoughts that the child was being ticked or brainwashed. Concerns that the kid was going to be used for some neverious purpose or killed reached Naruto's ears.

He ignored them all the same. Unless they decided to act foolish, their words were nothing but just that. Konohamaru had reinforced Naruto's belief that not everyone was going to see him as a demon or monster.

"No one will act against us." Venom's eel-like tendril whispered in Naruto's ear. "Unless they wish a very long and painful death." It paused for a moment. "Maybe we should butcher one or two? Just to make sure that the message has come across clearly?"

"Can you please stop with that?" Naruto groaned as he took his seat. Venom did not respond and simply vanished away once again as class started. The rest of the day went about and really nothing of interest happened until around lunch of the next day.

Once again, Naruto was eating alone under the same tree. Only this time, Konohamaru approached the lad much earlier in the free period than the day before. This time he had two other kids with him.

A boy wearing large glasses and appeared to be suffering from a cold. And a girl with two very large and straight pigtails in her sandy hair. Both of them were wearing those same kind of goggles. The two other kids appeared to be a little more hesitant than their friend in approaching the known demon host.

Naruto saw them coming from the other side of the courtyard, but decided to wait for them to approach before giving a small wave to the group of youngsters.

"Hi." Naruto greeted cheerfully. Always be kind to those you do not know.

"See?" Konohamaru instantly addressed his two compatriots. "I told you he wouldn't do anything if we just walked up." His two friends did not respond and decided to try their best to hind behind Konohamaru in the most casual way possible.

"These your friends?" Naruto asked the obvious question.

"Yeah!" Konohamaru practically shouted before stepping aside and showing the two others off. "This is Udon." He gestured towards the sickly looking boy. Said kid gave a nervous sniff while trying to look anywhere else.

"And this." Konohamaru moved over to his female friend. "Is Moegi." The girl too was trying not to make eye contact with Naruto and was instead looking very hard at the ground in front of her feet. Almost looking like a child that was preparing to be scolded.

Naruto smiling kindly. "It is very nice to meet you two." He could feel Venom try to tear his way out of his chest again, but placed a hand over the area to hold the demon in. He didn't need him scaring away two people that were already terrified enough as it was.

Konohamaru instantly plopped down next to Naruto and pulled out his own boxed lunch while his two friends continued to stand.

"Come on guys." The called with a smile. "Didn't you bring your lunches?"

The two looked at each other before sitting down next to their friend; on the side furthest from Naruto.

The moment that they started to eat, Konohamaru once again began to barrage Naruto with an endless stream of questions. Questions that the older boy was more than happy to answer.

Eventually, Konohamaru noticed that neither of his friends were taking any part in the conversation.

"Come on guys." He tried to convince. "You're making me look bad in front of the Demon of Konoha."

Naruto groaned out loud at the title, knowing that now it had been said and it was going to stick.

Konohamaru heard the blond's sounds of displeasure. "What? It's a cool title! Especially since you're not a shinobi. With a title like that, nobody would dare to mess with you."

"But we need to eat." Venom suddenly popped out of Naruto's back. "Why would we want to scare off any potential meals?"

Both Udon and Moegi nearly jumped out of their skins when they saw the black tendril sprout out of Naruto's back. They both nearly fainted when it started to talk as well.

Everyone just ignored the monster's words.

The day continued. As the did the next few weeks.

Konohamaru continued to bring his friends to eat and hang out with Naruto every day that they had school. Admittedly, Naruto felt a little weird hanging around kids younger than him, but it was better than being completely alone. So he accepted it.

With his new friends, it appeared that Naruto's life had finally calmed down at least a little. Sure, even after a month passing since the knowledge of Venom becoming public, he was still getting odd looks and harsh whispers. Overall, things had started to look like they were improving a small bit for the boy.

The only problem, was his feedings.

Naruto still needed to feed, and while his father was able to pull some strings to allow his son access to a nearly limitless supply of chocolate. It still was not enough to completely sate his appetite.

It was finally beginning to show.

"How can you possibly want more?" Kushina asked her son as she observed him stuffing handfuls of chocolate into his face. Their stock for the week was almost out already and it was only Tuesday.

"This just isn't enough." Naruto stated between mouthfuls. "It only holds it off for so long." He shoved more and more of the stuff into his mouth, not even bothering to chew and swallowing each handful almost as quickly as they were brought to his mouth.

"Is there anything else that could work?"

Naruto stopped for just a moment to give his mother a dead look. She knew the answer to her own question, obviously, but hoped beyond hope that her son would tell her otherwise. It was one thing to learn that her firstborn ate people, but to consciously allow it to continue; Kushina was not sure if she would be able to handle that.

"Mother." A drooling maw appeared on the side of Naruto's head. "We must feed." Naruto began to shove more and more chocolate into both mouths now. Several tendrils had also appeared to envelope the tiny drops and crumbs that Naruto's hands missed.

"We don't want to hurt any of you." The second mouth stated. It's tone a torn whine. "But we must feed soon lest our hunger get the better of us." Chocolate began to be shoveled into that mouth, making Naruto have to talk for the two.

"If we don't really feed soon, then we can not promise that we will not come after anyone in the village to kill and devour them." Naruto's eyes held no falsehoods. This was not something that he really wanted to do, but something he had resigned to a long time ago.

Kushina could see that there was no point in trying to argue. There was nothing she could say or do that could change the horrible fact. Her son still needed to eat the flesh of the living to keep his demon under control. She and her husband had only heard from the demon itself that it was a requirement; so as far as they knew it could all be one giant lie.

But neither her nor her husband wanted to take the risk of it be true either.

Kushina watched in silence as her son consumed the last of the chocolate in a few short minutes; tendrils reaching across the ground for any remaining traces that might have been missed.

Naruto quickly got down to all fours and began to sniff around the area, desperate for anymore of the hunger reducing ambrosia.

Kushina could not bear to see her son reduced to such a state. "I will go speak with your father." She said quickly as tears began to obscure her vision and she quickly hurried out of the room.

The mother had to take a few breaths to calm herself down before grabbing her coat and making her way to her husband's office. She still could not believe what she was going to suggest to Minato. But then again, neither of them could have ever expected for their lives to become what it has.

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Lord Hokage?" A tall man with a heavily scared head and face asked the shorter man walking alongside him. Both were walking down one of the many corridors that composed the village's prison and interrogation center.

Minato gave a dark chuckle. "Nervous, Ibuki?" He gave the man a sideways glance. "I wouldn't think that you would be one to dismiss a new method of torture."

"I use torture as a means to gain information." The taller man defended. "I don't like to make a show of it."

"But sometimes you have had prisoners witness your torture sessions." Minato quickly retorted. "Sometimes all it takes is a show of what could happen to make a man fear even more for his life."

"I still can not believe that you are condoning this?" Ibuki muttered. "And it's your own son!"

"We both know what he is and I have seen first hand what he can do." Minato explained. "I do not want to risk that being unleashed upon this village. If one person must die for the sake of this village then so be it."

"But to force them to watch one of their own be eaten alive in front of them? I at least end it after we get what we need."

"It is no different than feeding a tiger at a zoo." Minato justified. "Only this tiger could easily destroy this entire village if we allow it."

"And the council is allowing this?" Ibuki was trying to think of anything that could prevent this from happening. To say that he, being a professional torturer, had a high moral standing would be an outright lie. But he did try to separate himself from the prisoners and criminals her interrogated by using at least somewhat of a moral code.

"They don't have a choice." Minato stated bluntly. The council could bitch and moan all they wanted about Naruto and his demon, but none of them had the gall to actually do anything about it. Minato could possibly make his son a shinobi at a moments notice and the council would be too scared to say no.

At least one good thing had come out from all of this. The council was a lot less suborn towards Minato and his rule. The fear of his son was enough to cow even the most stubborn headed of the members. Now if he could only get them to shut up about his son.

The two eventually reached a set of double doors that lead into a somewhat of a large room. There were two sides of the room separated by a thick wall of glass. On one side of the glass wall sate several rows of theater seats and was currently the side the Minato and Ibuki had entered.

One the other side of the glass was a plain empty room lite with enough overhead lighting to insure that there was not a single shadow that could be cast. In the dead center of that section of the room was a place to bolt down an examination chair or table. On opposites sides were sealed steel doors.

Minato walked up to the glass window and gave a deep breath while putting his hands behind his back.

"Bring them in." He ordered without glancing back at the other man. It was time to see if this little test would finally quiet those annoyed with Naruto remaining in the village. Either out of respect, or fear.

Ibuki gave a low bow before leaving the room. About five full minutes later, the man returned with a small group of heavily detained prisoners. All wearing the same dusty gray uniform and chakra disrupting shackles on their wrists and ankles.

The prisoners were brought in by rows of two, with a guard positioned on either side of any pair. They were quickly ushered to a seat and were told to sit, all the while Minato continued to look away from the group.

Minato knew who each and every one of the men behind him were. They were all notorious criminals, traitors, or just prisoners that did nothing but cause violence and chaos. Behind him was the worst the not just this village, but the entire nation had seen.

They were all mumbling words of confusion as well as resentment towards the guards. Even shouting a jeer or two towards the Hokage. Minato ignored their words and decided to wait until everyone was seated and the guards were at their proper stations.

Once everything was set, the man turned around to face the group. He did not utter a sound as he scanned each and every face. One after the other their names and what they had done to land themselves in their current situation.

Every heinous act you could think of, at least one of the men before him had committed at some point. Unfortunately, most all of these men were linked to various organizations that were less than kind toward the nation or village. And, sadly, none of them appeared to ever want to talk about their little groups.

Minato had an idea of how to get them to talk. A man can resist physical torture of he has experienced worse in the past. Same for both mental and emotional. The knowledge that your torturer is not going to kill you in the end is usually what would cause failure in the end. Or worse, the belief that they would die.

He glanced over to one of the guard and gave a curt nod. The shinobi returned with one of his own before pressing a small button on the wall close to him. One of the sealed doors slowly opened, revealing a large man in the same prison uniform as all the others.

The man looked around in confusion for a moment before realizing where he was. He smirked upon recognizing he was back in one of the torture rooms of the prison. They failed to get anything out of him the last few times, but it looks like they foolishly have not given up just yet.

He walked over to the glass and knocked on it with one of his knuckles. He tried to say something, but no noise could be heard through the glass.

The Hokage did not look at the man, but did nod once again to the guard that had originally let the prisoner loose. He got a nod back as the guard formed a few quick hand signs.

The chakra-blocking tags covering the contained prisoner's restraints, quickly burned away into ash. A moment later and the restraints unlocked themselves and fell uselessly to the floor.

Now all of the prisoners were confused. They had assumed they were going to see a comrade be tortured for information, but apparently they were letting him go.

The man looked at where the shackles had once been. He had been wearing them for so long that he had forgotten what the skin underneath looked like. A giant smile appeared on his face and he could not contain the laughter welling up within his throat.

Of course, the man only looked like a madman since his heavy joyous laughter could not be heard by the others. He practically danced around the small room before smirking and beginning a few hand signs of his own.

The moment he started, the guard standing opposite of the one that released the prisoner pushed a button on his side of the room.

The other set of sealed doors began to open; but before they could even get close to being completely opened, a pair of hands appeared from within the room and grabbed both sides.

The sounds of the opening mechanism grinding in refusal filled both rooms as the doors were forced open at a much quicker rate then they were intended.

Behind the doors was none other than Naruto, hunched over and salivating heavily. His father had told him his plan and just the thought of actually being able to eat a real meal had nearly driven Naruto to try taking a bite out of his own father.

His eyes instantly locked onto the man in front of him, who was just looking at the boy with concerned confusion.

Naruto's breathing picked up as he allowed his fingers to become enveloped in Venom's power; becoming long, large, blade-like claws. His mouth quickly filled with a mess of multiple fangs.

He could smell the blood caked into the very bricks of the walls and cement of the floor. The fear and pain that countless people had to experience remained within the very air of the room; fueling his desire to tear into the soft flesh before him.

The boy took a single step forward before pausing and glancing over to his father.

The man turned his head only slightly; just enough so that he could see his son. He locked eyes with his flesh-starved son before closing them and turning back to face the group in front of him.

Naruto's nightmare mouth twisted into a nasty grin as he glared back at his prey, his tongue flopping out of his mouth and wriggling about.

The prisoner took a step back, startled at the boy's general appearance. But, he quickly gathered back his nerve and realized that he was now face-to-face with just some strange kid. Probably another prisoner.

If anything, this just showed that the village had finally given up on trying to get information out of him the torturous way. And it looked like they were just going to have him kill another prisoner; possibly one that had been causing them just as much trouble as himself. Still no idea why there was an audience of his peers however.

The prisoner barely had time to register what was going on when Naruto launched himself towards the man; claws extended outward. The man nearly dodged out of the way, but the boy's claws appeared to grow slightly larger upon getting close to his prey, insuring that a nasty gash was made on the man's arm.

The man ignored the stinging pain and bleeding and decided to quickly retaliate with he knew found freedom, by using one of the many powerful techniques he had learned over the years.

Unfortunately, Naruto was just not giving the guy a chance; having quickly following up his dive with a flurry of swipes with his massive claws. He pushed forward while swiping wildly, forcing his prey to either dodge out of the way of each massive swipe, or risk being torn to ribbons.

Eventually, the man slips up and gets nicked once again by one of Naruto's claws. But instead of just letting it remain as a scratch, Naruto quickly shifted the hand that caused the wound into a formless black mass that quickly adhered to the man's flesh right at the moment it made the cut.

The mass quickly grew over the man's arm and allowed Naruto yo drag him close enough to grab with his other clawed hand. His claws dug deep into the man's flesh as Naruto reared his head back and opened his fanged mouth wider than it should ever be allowed to.

He quickly reached up to the man's head, forcing it to the side before thrusting his own head forward and clamping his jaws down onto the soft flesh practically begging to be consumed.

A blood-chilling scream tore itself out from the man's throat as he tried to push the kid off, but with no success.

As Naruto began to tear into his meal, Minato watched the expressions of the prisoners in front of him. They had changed from annoyance to confusion, to excitement, and to finally fear.

None of them could hear a thing that was happening on the other side of the glass; and for that they were thankful. The scene before them was brutal beyond compare. Whatever this boy was, he was the furthest anything could be to being human.

The way he tore at the man all the while making sure to keep him alive and conscious even while being devoured. It was all a part of the show, according to his father. Minato had specifically requested that Venom, not Naruto, put on as gruesome and terrifying of a display as possilbe; while not causing any damage to the room itself.

After what felt like hours of pure agony, Naruto finally allowed the man to die; by splitting his head wide open and swallowing every morsel of his brain.

Finally finished eating all that was worth consuming, Naruto's head snapped to the terrified crows on the other side of the glass. He leapt over to it just as fast and proceeded to give a disgusting display. Thrashing his overly long tongue against the window and splattering as much bloody saliva over the window as possible.

He even swipes at the glass with his claws; deep enough to leave visible scratches on the clear wall. After a moment or two of hamming it up, Naruto finally let out a nasty chuckle before walking back to the room had been released from.

Once the doors were closed, Naruto returned to normal and left the building.

Minato had not said a word to the inmates and had kept his eyes on them for the entire duration of the event. They were all visibly shaken by what they had just seen.

Sure death and brutal killings were the norm for ninja, bandits and highwaymen; but to see another man eaten alive by something that at least resembled a human. None had ever guessed they would see something like that in their lifetime.

The criminals were all filed out of the room and ushered back to their respective holding cells.

Minato was both pleased and disgusted. He was happy that the message got through without much issue, but he also resented himself for knowing and not trying to prevent another human's death. Especially one as terrible as what his son had done.

But, at least he found a way to make use of his son's insatiable hunger. That still did not mean that he was going to give up on trying to find an alternative to fixing it completely.

Minato eventually left the building and made his way to his office; pleased with the results, but disgusted with the test itself. He tried to not think how this was going to become a reoccurring event.

Back with Naruto, his trip home was an eventful one. Why, you might ask? Because he had completely forgotten to clean the blood off of himself and was practically declaring that he had just killed some poor soul.

The people trying to desperately get away from him was enough to get a chuckle out of Venom however, so it was not all bad.

The days continued onward without much change. Naruto still went to school and spent time with his family. It was only about a week or two later did something else strange decided to happen to his already super bizarre life.

* * *

It was just another day for the boy. He went to school, hung out with Konohamaru and his little friends, and tried to get Venom to understand the difference between pet and prey. Nothing new, nothing exciting. Just another day.

Naruto left school as he always did and started on his way home, not looking forward to the homework he was going to have to do. However, remembering that his younger sister was trying her hand at cooking a chocolate cake did bring an excited smile to the boy's face.

"Hey!" A voice called from behind Naruto. The boy obviously ignored it, thinking that someone was calling for someone else.

"Hey! Wait! Naruto!"

Now the boy paid attention to the voice. He turned to see the pink-haired girl he had seen a lot of back when she was at the academy. Judging by the headband, she was one of the graduating class along with Kiba and Sasuke.

The girl was lightly jogging after the boy and came to a stop in front of him. Naruto groaned a little bit, realizing that she was a head taller than him and making him feel a lot shorter than he was. He was still short though.

"Um. Hi." Sakura tried to start in a friendly manner; only for her words to come out in a near whisper. A shy, awkward smile forming on her cute face. She had decided to finally make herself known to the boy, and had planned out exactly how everything was supposed to go. Unfortunately, what one plans to have happen does not often actually end up happening.

She did not have that much experience talking to boys besides those in her family or for mission purposes. Not once had Sakura ever tried to have a normal, friendly conversation with one. And now she was trying to have such a talk with what is arguably the most inhuman boy the village had ever seen.

Regardless, the pink-haired girl still wanted to come off as kind and friendly as possible. Maybe she should have brought Ino along for this?

"Hello." Naruto was a little bit weary of the girl. She was a shinobi that he had seen a lot of before and one that obviously knew who he was. Despite her innocent appearance, she could easily have murderous intentions for the boy.

An awkward silence fell over the two as Sakura tried to pick her next words carefully.

"I've seen you before."

Naruto nodded. "At lunch while you were in the academy. I know, I saw you too. Everyday sitting with your friends."

"Yeah." Sakura tried to not make this awkward conversation any worse. "I saw you with your friends too. You always looked like you were having fun."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded again, but still did not break eye contact with the girl's green eyes.

_'We were just wondering if you wouldn't mind bending us over and using us as your person cock warmer for the rest of our lives?'_

Sakura shook her head to get rid of that annoying voice as well as to clear out her own thoughts.

"Anyway, my name is Sakura Haruno. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind, um, hanging out for a while; or something?" The girl spoke really fast and tried to make the request not sound so strange.

_'Can we see that cock hang out?'_

Naruto looked at the girl for a moment. She was kinda weird, but his sixth sense was not going off. The girl might be genuine in her request. The only question was: Why did she want to be around him?

"Sure." Naruto replied with a somewhat forced smile. "But why do you want to hang out with me? You know I'm a demon, right?"

"Well..." Now was the part that Sakura really had to think each of her words through. If she says just one wrong word, there was a chance Naruto could react in the worst way possible. And a pissed off monster was not something the pink-haired girl was willing to work with.

"You always looked like you were having fun with your friends back when they were in the academy."

"Uh huh." Naruto was still not sure what this girl was really trying to do.

"But since they graduated, I thought that you might feel a little bit lonely." It still came out so strange. There really was no way for the girl to say any of this without sounding like some kind of weirdo.

Naruto could see where the girl was coming from; even if it was still very strange for her to suddenly show up out of nowhere.

"If you don't want to, I understand. But I felt that having at least some company was better than none at all."

Her logic seemed sound and Naruto really did not have any reason to think she had any other motives. She had never been rude or aggressive towards him back in the academy, unlike a certain Hyuuga. And so far, she has only been a little strange and awkward.

"No, no." Naruto quickly waved his hand in front of him. "We can hang out." He paused. "What do you have in mind?"

Sakura paused, she had not planned this far ahead and now was trying to think of something they could do. Anything really would be fine. Why was this so hard for her? He was just another person; who just so happened to have a demon inside of him.

It really should not be this hard to just talk to him.

"How about we just find somewhere to chat?" Naruto suggested while gesturing over to a nearby bench. He walked over to a nearby vending machine before hearing the girl's answer. "Want anything?"

Sakura blinked before absentmindedly walking over to the bench and sitting down. "Juice would be nice." She replied softly. The sound of the machine was quickly followed by the boy handing her a can. Naruto sat down on the other side of the bench and drank whatever he got out of the machine.

The two sat in a stiff silence for a few moments before finally one of them began to speak. It started out slow, but eventually the two began to talk about the things going on around the village. Eventually the conversation lead to Sakura and her outings as a ninja. Luckily for the girl, Naruto found a lot of interest in that so the conversation could keep going without worry of stalling out.

Slowly, the two got to know one another and a small friendly bond formed between them. They stayed and chatted until the sun started to set before eventually having to go their separate ways. Sakura stating that she would introduce Naruto to some of her other friends before leaving.

Naruto walked a little towards home, a small smile on his face. He had made just another friend after such a short amount of time. And, while a little strange, she seemed nice enough and did not appear to care about Venom.

As he walked home, Naruto began to think.

"You've been awful quiet." Naruto said allowed.

_'Just thinking.' _Venom responded vaguely. _'She seemed nice.' _He said after a moment of silence.

"Yeah." Naruto agreed. "A little strange though. I wonder when I'll get to see her again."

_'Whenever she is free again, I guess.'_

"What is going on with you?" Naruto stopped walking. "You're not acting like yourself."

_'Like I said, I'm thinking.' _There was clear annoyance in the demon's voice.

"Okay, okay. Jeez." Naruto mumbled before just deciding not to talk to Venom for a while. It did worry him that the monster living inside of him was not being as vocal as usual. But there really was not anything he could do to make the demon talk, so dropping the subject was all that could be done.

Over the next few weeks, Sakura made good on her word and slowly introduced Naruto to her friends. Obviously, most all of them were ninja like her, and some were less friendly then Naruto would have liked, but it was still fun to meet new people that were at least not too terrified of him and his demon.

Besides all that, not much else happened for the next while. Life went on as usual and people slowly got used to Naruto's presence. Seeing the boy walk around the village with several black tentacles waving about had become the norm for most of the village. Hardly anybody batted an eye about it any more.

That still did not mean that many people liked that fact that their leader was allowing a demon to walk freely within their village. But at the same time, these people were also too afraid to really try anything against it.

Even the Uchiha; who had a large amount of their power and influence taken away due to their part in the invasion, were continuing to keep their distance away from the entire Namikaze family. Unfortunately, this meant Sasuke as well.

While Naruto was able to hang out with Kiba without any real issue; he had not seen even a hair of Sasuke ever since the failed invasion. Naruto did not know if it was a choice of his own, or if his family was preventing him from seeing his friend.

Knowing how strained the relationship had become between the two families, it was not outside the realm of possibility that his family was trying to keep the two apart. But, this was just sadly another part of politics and there really was not anything Naruto could do without causing any further issue. And he was positive his father did not need anything else stacked up on his plate.

Naruto could not help but feel that there was going to be some very serious outcomes to what both the Uchiha had done, as well as what he had done to their leader. He just hoped that he would not have to eventually end up killing his friend. Naruto honestly was not sure if he would actually be able to do it.

Venom really did not have that issue and had tried on several occasions to get his host to let them just eat the entire Uchiha clan. Obviously, Naruto would argue against doing anything of the sort, even though he could still taste that Uchiha eye whenever the conversation was brought up.

He could not argue against how tempting it really was to just eat the entire clan. But giving in would really make him the demon that the villagers had painted him as. Plus, he simply could not disappoint his mother.

Naruto hoped he would get a chance to see his friend again sometime soon.


End file.
